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Disturbing undercover interviews with executives from U.K.-based political research firm Cambridge Analytica have revealed admissions of bribery, entrapment and the use of sex workers to sway political elections around the world, according to an investigative series airing Monday. The results of a monthslong investigation by Britain’s Channel 4 News revealed Cambridge Analytica’s inner workings as told by Alexander Nix, the company’s chief executive, and Mark Turnbull, the managing director of CA Political Global, to a reporter posing as a client. The interviews are part of Channel 4 News’ “Data, Democracy and Dirty Tricks” investigation series. Tonight, we'll take you inside the world of Cambridge Analytica after our reporters went undercover as prospective clients. The full story tonight at 19:00 GMT on Channel 4 - and at https://t.co/Rh0oIjmWgq pic.twitter.com/g42pQ8SrdQ — Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 19, 2018 During phone calls and in-person meetings at a London hotel from November 2017 to January 2018, Nix was recorded bragging that his firm and parent company Strategic Communications Laboratories (SCL) secretly influenced more than 200 elections around the world, including those in Nigeria, Kenya, the Czech Republic, India and Argentina. Cambridge Analytica was also hired by President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. The firm recently made news for using data acquired by Facebook to build “psychographic profiles” about voters without their knowledge. According to Channel 4′s meetings with Nix, his firm’s methods for influencing an election included putting certain politicians in compromising positions and secretly recording them, as well as conducting their work using fake IDs, websites, and under different company names so that the company’s relationship with the client is not publicly known. Tomorrow, we'll take you inside the world of Cambridge Analytica after our reporters went undercover as prospective clients. The full story tomorrow night at 19:00 GMT - on Channel 4 News. pic.twitter.com/5hExjh90nN — Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 18, 2018 “We do incognito very well indeed,” Nix said according to one December interview cited by Channel 4. The company’s chief data officer, Dr. Alex Tayler, is also listed as having attended two of the meetings with the Channel 4 reporter. During another interview in January, Nix reportedly said that one method of finding dirt on a candidate was to essentially create it. “We’ll have a wealthy developer come in, somebody posing as a wealthy developer,” he said. “They will offer a large amount of money to the candidate, to finance his campaign in exchange for land, for instance. We’ll have the whole thing recorded on cameras, we’ll blank out the face of our guy and we post it on the internet.” In another example, the CEO reportedly said the firm will “send some girls,” specifically Ukranian women, to a candidate’s house to seduce the individual, an act that Nix said “works very well.” “I’m just giving you examples of what can be done and what, what has been done,” he told the reporter. Other methods involved making the public believe inaccurate facts about a certain candidate. “I mean, it sounds a dreadful thing to say, but these are things that don’t necessarily need to be true, as long as they’re believed,” he said. ... These are things that don’t necessarily need to be true, as long as they’re believed.” “It’s no good fighting an election campaign on the facts,” Turnbull is reported as saying in November, “because actually it’s all about emotion, it’s all about emotion.” Channel 4 noted that though Turnbull witnessed Nix’s comments on the use of sex workers, during a Dec. 19 interview, Turnbull said his company isn’t “in the business of entrapment” and “lying, making stuff up.” “We wouldn’t send a pretty girl out to seduce a politician and then film them in their bedroom and then release the film. There are companies that do this, but to me, that crosses a line…” Turnbull is reported as saying. A Cambridge Analytica spokesman, cited by Channel 4, denied reports that its firm and affiliates “use entrapment, bribes, or so-called ‘honey-traps’ for any purpose whatsoever ... ”

More Americans than ever before are experiencing mental health problems, yet access to treatment for those issues is becoming more difficult to receive, a new study has found. A new analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey shows that serious psychological distress, or SPD, defined as severe sadness and depressive symptoms that interfere with a person’s physical wellbeing, is on the rise just as resources for mental health treatment are declining. Researchers from NYU’s Langone Medical Center analyzed almost a decade’s worth of data and found that more than 8.3 million Americans ― or an estimated 3.4 percent of the adult population ― suffers from a serious mental health issue. The latest data is a departure from previous reports on the CDC’s survey, which estimated that fewer than 3 percent of American adults experienced serious psychological distress, according to the study’s authors. The statistics were pulled from surveys collected between 2006 and 2014. The report included more than 200,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 64. Individuals were represented from all states and across all ethnic and socioeconomic groups, according to the study authors. One of the more dismal discoveries from the report is that access to professional help for mental health issues is deteriorating. The study found the 9.5 percent of people surveyed in 2014 did not have health insurance that provided access to a psychiatrist or counselor, a rise from 9 percent in 2006. Approximately 10.5 percent of people experienced delays in getting treatment due to insufficient mental health coverage ― a 1 percent increase from 2006. And almost 10 percent of individuals in 2014 could not afford to pay for necessary psychiatric medications, which went up from 8.7 percent in 2006. The findings indicate there’s a growing problem when it comes to mental health services. This could especially affect smaller communities. A 2016 report published by Mental Health America found there’s a glaring shortage of mental health professionals in the United States, specifically in rural areas. Alabama, for example, has one worker per every 1,200 people. Nevada, another rural state, was ranked last in MHA’s report, largely in part because of the state’s lack of available mental health professionals. What this means There’s a clear need for more emphasis on mental health in primary care facilities and hospitals across the country, according to Judith Weissman, lead study investigator of the CDC data and a research manager in the Department of Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center. “Among people with any type of illness, people with SPD are the ones experiencing the most disparities in terms of utilizing health care,” Weissman told The Huffington Post. “It leaves people with SPD just spinning through the system and makes you wonder what’s going on. Why isn’t the health care system addressing people with mental illness?” Why isn't the health care system addressing people with mental illness? Weissman and her fellow researchers hypothesize that poor treatment or care rates could have to do with the limited number of mental health providers across the country. “A lot of people with mental illness don’t have coverage, but even if they do and even if there was the ability to pay for it, the number of providers out there to treat it is limited,” Weissman said. “It’s just a huge disconnect between the number of illnesses that really affect this population and the number of people who are able to treat it.” Weissman believes that the success of managing mental health in America won’t come unless the treatment gap is closed. “Until we begin to provide the resources and the mental health care providers, as well as screening and treatment, we won’t curtail the tide of mental illness,” she said. Attitudes about mental health are a powerful factor Studies indicate that prejudicial outlooks on mental health often stand in the way of people getting the help they need. Weissman says that also is apparent in this analysis and, because of that, they found people may self-medicate with substances as a way to manage problems. Addressing the stereotypes surrounding psychological health is vital to increasing the number of people who get care, she added. And increasing care availability means encouraging insurance providers, physicians and even other people in society to take mental health as seriously as physical illnesses. One of the easiest ways to do this, Weissman says, is for primary care physicians to start implementing behavioral health checks into their practice. This could be done by the doctor themselves or, if it’s outside of their scope, having mental health specialists on site. “Mental illness doesn’t have parity with physical illness,” she explained. “When a person goes in to get their blood pressure checked, they need to be screened for depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. Mental illness needs to be viewed as something as serious as having a stroke or cancer.” Mental illness needs to be viewed as something as serious as having a stroke or cancer. Above all, she stresses that people with mental health issues are not alone in their experience and that treatment does help with managing the condition. Anyone who feels like they’re experiencing chronic sadness, anxiety or other psychological health problems should talk to a physician about what they’re experiencing. Because as complicated as getting treatment seems, as NYU’s recent data implies, there are still ways to get help and it’s worth it, Weissman said. (You can check out this list for a few free or low-cost resources as a place to start.)

The decision by the judges of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania leaves in place a congressional map issued by the state Supreme Court in February. In January, the state Supreme Court said the congressional plan Republicans had in place since 2011 so unfairly benefited the GOP that it violated a provision in the state constitution guaranteeing free and equal elections.

Aya Hijazi never planned to spend three years sitting in an Egyptian prison awaiting trial. On April 16, an Egyptian judge finally ended her unjust and pointless political imprisonment. Hijazi and her husband, Mohammed Hassanein, declined a formal wedding. Instead, they used their wedding fund to launch the Belady Foundation in Cairo, a nonprofit designed to aid the impoverished street children of urban Egypt. A dual American-Egyptian citizen and George Mason University graduate, Hijazi went to Egypt to help save lives. A warrantless raid by Egyptian police turned her dream into a nightmare. Dragged from the Belady Foundation offices, Hijazi ended up in an Egyptian jail cell, where four months passed before she was even made aware of the formal charges that falsely accused the Belady Foundation of sexually assaulting street children. Hijazi brought the best of her American education and values to Egypt in an attempt to make the world a better place. The government’s case fell apart almost immediately. An official forensics report commissioned by Egyptian prosecutors found no evidence of a crime, and the prosecution failed to present a single witness to any wrongdoing. In the absence of a case and facing growing international anger, the Egyptian government began a long string of delay tactics, delaying the hearing date seven times over three years. Hijazi and her husband remained in jail. Hijazi brought the best of her American education and values to Egypt in an attempt to make the world a better place. She faced the same political repression many defenders of human rights face. Her vindication is proof that even small efforts to improve our world can create ripples that shake even the most entrenched authoritarian governments. Humanitarian groups, members of Congress, the Obama Administration and the Trump Administration worked to free Hijazi from her political imprisonment. The process, dogged by political problems and foreign setbacks, at times seemed hopeless. Today’s decision is a credit to those who never lost that hope. The Hijazi family maintained their commitment to fighting for justice. Now, that hope has finally been rewarded. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights joined Hijazi’s brother, Basel, on a recent trip to Washington. Over several days, Basel Hijazi lobbied members of Congress to raise alarm about his sister’s dangerous situation. Democrats and Republicans who heard Basel’s story and vowed action should be commended. Their outrage exemplifies our commitment to the American values of free expression and the rule of law. We struggle to imagine the fear and suffering Aya Hijazi’s family has faced over the past three years. Through trial delays, isolation and fear of reprisals, the Hijazi family maintained their commitment to fighting for justice. Their optimism held strong even in the darkest moments of Hijazi’s case. Now, that hope has finally been rewarded. The April 16 decision reaffirms to the world the United States’ commitment to free expression and participation in civic life. Such a turn of events would have been impossible without the active engagement of policymakers and the activists who spurred their resolve. It also reminds us that there are many more cases like Aya Hijazi around the world, and we must not rest in our campaigns for their freedom. Authoritarian governments view apathy as opportunity. If the chorus of voices calling for justice under law fades, those governments will continue to act with impunity towards vulnerable activists. Complacency is not an option.

These are truly dangerous times, people. I’m not making reference to the obvious outcasts of society, like the twisted neo-nazi who drove his car into a crowd of people this past weekend in Virginia. Or, our so-called President who’s refused to disavow them. I’m talking about us Regular Folks. Those of us who go to work every day, sit in traffic, go for a run, surf the net, etc. The ones who have to live under the blanket of the constant turmoil caused by our failing leaders. The ones who aren’t mentally unstable, who aren’t members of an alt-right militia, and whose views aren’t distorted to the point where we believe the only way forward is to commit an act of domestic terrorism. Because if the underlying current of rage and divisiveness I bared witness to online the last few days, most of which spewed forth from the mouths of supposedly normal individuals, is a representation of where we’re at as a whole within our day to day interactions via the social media landscape, we should all be very concerned. As the tensions between us, even those on the ‘same side’, seem to be simmering to a boil. Last week, I posted a comment on my Facebook page basically saying I thought the outfit Hillary wore to her billionaire friend’s daughter’s wedding resembled a shower curtain, and she could do with a makeover. I’ve made much more serious comments about many more serious subjects in the past that went completely unresponded to. This particular one, however, seemed to hit a nerve with a lot of, not only Hillary supporters, but Hillary haters, as well as females -and males, alike. The former of whom accused me of being everything from a misogynist and/or a sexist, to an outright “dickhead”, to someone whose mother should disown him, and, of course, the ultimate insult - being a Trump supporter. Etc., etc. Those who know me (out of my thirty-three hundred or so friends I’d say I only actually know about 100) know my posts are primarily devoted to two main categories: Ant-Trump rhetoric and sarcasm. They also know I stand for women’s rights, equal pay, pro-choice, believe a woman would make a far better choice for President than a man, etc., etc. Thus, knowing me, they either shrugged it off, chuckled, or, at the worst, told me I shouldn’t be so shallow and went on with their lives. Others, however, most of whom never met me and have never spoken a word to me in my life, took to my page like Daenerys’s dragons, swooping down to defend the honor of their queen mother in danger, complete with breath of fire. Calling me all sorts of names, insulting my manhood/sexuality, suggesting I’d never say that about a man (even though I’ve commented dozens of times on how Bernie should’ve combed his freaking hair, got his suits from someplace other than Kohl’s, etc.), and reacting with such ferocity you’d think I publicly came out in support of kiddie porn. Keep in mind, I didn’t comment on any part of her body, her weight, skin-tone, wrinkles, the way she walked, her pointy ‘witch’ shoes, etc., or even her character. I simply said her dress made her look like a Taiwanese doll (most of which are quite beautiful, btw) and I was lambasted and taken to task as if I fat-shamed a twelve year-old mentally challenged girl on Youtube. I could’ve went Live and killed a puppy and the reaction would have been more subdued. But, as I discovered, make fun of Hillary, in any capacity, and you’re asking for trouble. This appears to go more so for her than for other women, as I wonder, if it had been Kim K.’s outfit that I criticized, would the reaction have been as equally supportive of women’s rights and seen the same angry ones rushing to Kimmie’s defense? I’m not a stylist or fashionista - Lord knows, I wear the same pair of jeans almost every day and shop at Century 21 - so, to pretend to know anything about style or what’s hot is not my thing by a long shot. Nor do I care. Yet, so much of the blowback was directed at asking me who the hell I thought I was criticizing - not just Hillary - but any woman’s appearance. Again, had the comment come from a gay man, say Perez Hilton or Mario Cantone, would the reaction have been as visceral? The ironic part is many of the females hurling insults at me for poking fun of a woman’s wardrobe choice are most likely the same ones you see whispering to each other at the mall or the supermarket about how those shoes make that one “look like a ho.” And, while most of us males are well aware of the reverse double standard that exists in not being able to comment on how a woman looks to a woman - we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t - I had no idea it would be taken so far, and out of context, on a simple Facebook post. Live and learn. In any case, within a few hours the post had taken on a life of its own (it’s still going, btw); with references made and arguments started based on everything from misogyny and sexism, to inequality in the workplace, to the double standard between women and men, to Melania’s nude pics (those should go w/out saying), to the fact that “Hillary doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone,” to Jill Stein stealing the election, to Ken Starr, to Russia, to Bernie, to Princess Di, to the pay gap at the HRC Foundation, and, of course, to the reasons she lost. Her self-admitted stiff and stuffy image being front and center. All, complete with the typos and grammatical errors you’d expect from one typing so fast and furiously, they push send without even bothering to proofread. One comment suggested I lay off because the “horror she’d been through” gave her the right to dress however she wants. “Horror”? I’m sorry, while Ms. H. may have had more than her fair share of stress and ridicule, she’s not an ISIS sex slave. A Yazidi girl forced to endure years of daily rapes at the hands of Godless monsters - that’s horror. Being a politician, staying married to Bill after his dozens of affairs were made public, and choosing to run for POTUS, these are all choices she made. No one forced her into any of it. And, if i’m correct, she’s pretty well-compensated for her ‘horror’, earning several hundred thousand dollars for just an hour of her time. I’ll take that kind of horror any day. Another ‘friend’, with thousands of followers, who has since blocked me, trolled me on her page after responding with fury to several of my friends who defended me and tried to get her to calm down. The best part, she’s a comedian. I’ll admit, when I first noticed some of the overzealous responses, I would post something sardonic that would tweak them more to see where it would go. But, after a while, when I saw others begin hurling vicious insults towards each other - again, folks who never met, I realized there’s something very wrong here. Keep in mind, most of the comments were from liberals - some Hillary supporters, some Bernie supporters, some independents, some not even from this country, and mostly all Trump haters. So, to see this kind of infighting at this level, makes you wonder if it’s a microcosm of what’s out there as a whole? Are we that fragmented and divided at this point we’ll turn on each other in an instant like an angry mob out for virtual blood over a Facebook post? Are the Hillary haters and defenders out there so steadfast in their beliefs they’ll tear each other apart over it? We know who wins if they do and he’s laughing his ass off every day because of it. Those who fight for tolerance of all races, creeds and colors should be able to tolerate each other’s meaningless Facebook posts without World War lll breaking out. There’s a real one already in the making as we speak and doesn’t need any help from us. Fascism, on either side, is quite a dangerous thing. Being steadfast in the belief that All men are created equal is as noble a cause as there is. But the willingness to pick up a virtual hammer and bash someone’s head in, who may have a different view about the same subject, is quite disturbing. Where will this type of rhetoric and seething anger leads us to as we try and move forward? How much of the hate that we dish out at each other online manifests itself in our daily lives? I’m no sociology professor, but the answer is, probably a lot. We’re already seeing the crackpots cracking all over the place due to the divisive nature of our leadership, but what about those of us who aren’t reading books on bomb building? As we walk down the street, many of us are already instant enemies, be it accidentally bumping into someone on a check out line, sitting too close to someone on the subway - (I tried to take a tiny corner of a seat recently and the woman sitting there screamed at me as if I had tried to set her on fire), getting cut off in traffic, etc. The level of instant animosity we have toward each other right out of the gate seems to be at an all time high. Part of the reason could be that, back in the day, you weren’t subjected to everyone’s opinions every ten seconds, everywhere you looked. Thirty, forty years ago, we all had the same opinions we do now, but being able to share every-single thing you think, any time you want, with everyone, leads to an inevitable conflict of ideas. And conflict of ideas is the main foundation for war. Another contributing factor might be that most of us are still in post-election shock, still trying to grasp WTF happened and what’s happening, and believe anything negative said about anyone on “our side,” especially Hillary, is a potential disaster. “We can’t show division!” we liberals cry. “We must unite!” Yet, it seems we’re so busy fighting about how to come together, we wind up dividing. It’s no secret the democratic party is floundering. It’s always floundered. Always searched for the right message/messenger to sway those potential fence-sitters. But, now, in the face of a fascist, white supremacist supporting, environment-killing, internationally embarrassing, unfiltered lunatic, to still not be able to win/convert voters is obviously at the root of the problem. The fracturing/infighting it’s causing amongst ourselves is truly a sad thing to watch, as it does nothing but weaken our ability to fight back against the true enemy. Not that Trump is the only proponent/cause of hate/separatism out there, but he’s the poster child for it. In light of this, we’ve started taking ourselves too seriously. We’ve lost the ability to laugh, and instead, have wound up with a collective disposition as tight as a shock-spring, ready to pounce on anything and anyone who may set us off. Most of the time the reaction is completely disproportionate to the offense, especially when directed at those on the same side. Heck, even The Huff Post, the biggest bastion of liberal journalism on the planet, has altered its views towards satire and humor due to the fear of being called fake news. The insanity and instability of the Trump administration has spread like a parasitic virus to all of us. A big part of that has to be attributed to the fact many of us are horrified at the realization our system of democracy is failing as we speak and, other than sign online petitions, we’re not really sure what to do about it. We’re constantly being forced to ask: How did we let this happen? How do we stop it from happening again? What do we do now?

Google will begin using an experimental balloon to try and restore emergency cellular reception service to the devastated island of Puerto Rico after the Federal Communications Commission approved a license on Friday. The tech giant aims to use it Project Loon program to restore emergency service to the island, where fewer than a fourth of the cell towers are working. FCC chief of staff Matthew Berry tweeted the news on Friday evening, two days after the commission approved a $77 million plan to restore telecommunications services to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which was also a hurricane victim. Project Loon, a program that would bring internet and cell service to rural and remote areas across the world through polyethylene balloons, has yet to be fully developed in Google’s innovation lab. But its plan is to equip balloons with redesigned components of traditional cell towers, made lighter and powered with solar panels. BREAKING: FCC issues experimental license to Google to provide emergency cellular service in Puerto Rico through Project Loon balloons. — Matthew Berry (@matthewberryfcc) October 6, 2017 A spokesperson with X, Google’s innovation lab responsible for the project, told Mashable it was unclear if the balloons would be as successful in responding to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria as it had been when extreme flooding hit Peru in May. “We were able to connect people in Peru quickly because we were already working closely with Telefonica on some testing; in this case, things are a little more complicated because we’re starting from scratch,” the spokesperson said in a statement. As a result of Hurricane Maria, 90 percent of Puerto Rico is still without power, making communication nearly impossible. A week after Maria made landfall, residents in the United States reported being completely unable to get in contact with their families on the island. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also expressed interest in helping to restore Puerto Rico’s power by using the company’s solar infrastructure technology.

Video posted Monday shows a woman in Half Moon Bay, California, hurling racist epithets at an Asian-American family while driving past them — less than two weeks after a similarly charged incident against a Korean-American man occurred in the Bay Area. “Go back to your country, bitch,” the woman can be heard saying in a video captured by Facebook user Sandra Lee as the driver holds up her middle finger. “Bye, China.” In a Facebook post shared on Monday, Lee said she was in the car with her husband and two kids when the incident occurred. The clip has more than 2,000 shares as of Wednesday afternoon. According to Lee’s Facebook post, the driver made the racist statements after attempting to make a right turn as Lee’s husband tried to go straight on a green light. “She was shouting at us the whole time until we were able to change to different lane to avoid any trouble,” Lee wrote. “I’m beyond furious knowing that my kids had heard all the swearing and what racism is like. I’m so sad to see such a hatred around our country.” Lee, who said a friend of hers endured a similar incident a week before, said her family stayed silent throughout the encounter. She noted that while she decided to keep quiet to keep her children safe, she wanted to share the video to raise awareness surrounding the racism she and others have experienced. “Being silent might get you by that day. But will it end? We can not change the way these people think,” she wrote. “But I really hope that this video along with rest of other similar videos will teach these people that there are consequences and hopefully SHUT them up.” Just last week in Fremont, California, a woman was caught on video pulling her eyes back and shouting “This is not your fucking country” to James Ahn, a Korean-American member of the Air Force Reserve. Though Ahn reported the incident, the local police department did not take action against the woman.

In the wake of one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history, the National Rifle Association turned to a familiar tactic: pointing the finger at Hollywood for promoting a culture of violence. But at its museum in Fairfax, Virginia, the gun rights advocacy group continues to celebrate the very firearms that it has accused the movie industry of using to glorify gun violence and make billions of dollars The “Hollywood Guns” exhibit, in the National Firearms Museum’s William B. Ruger Gallery, “spotlights 125 firearms that have thrilled moviegoers for generations,” according to the NRA’s website. Among the weapons on display are the Smith and Wesson revolver used by Clint Eastwood in the films “Dirty Harry” and “Magnum Force”, the suppressed shotgun of Javier Bardem’s character in “No Country for Old Men”, a submachine gun used by Bruce Willis in “Die Hard”, and Captain Jack Sparrow’s flintlock pistol from “Pirates of the Caribbean”. There are also guns from “Pulp Fiction”, “Reservoir Dogs”, “The Departed” and a number of westerns, including “3:10 to Yuma” and “True Grit”. “These guns have never before been seen together, and probably never will again,” museum director Jim Supica is quoted as saying on the exhibit’s website. Warner Bros. via Getty Images American actor Clint Eastwood points his pistol in a still from the film "Dirty Harry". A second exhibit of Hollywood weaponry can be found at the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum at the Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri. The pair of exhibits debuted as “Reel Guns of Reel Heroes” in 2002, according to an NRA blog post. The collection at the Virginia museum has been a permanent fixture since 2010. New guns were added to the collection as recently as October 2016. That the NRA showcases such items is neither new nor surprising. But given comments by the association’s leadership, it’s hard not to question that if by maintaining such exhibits the NRA isn’t guilty of the same glorification for which it has skewered the film industry. In December 2012, about a week after a gunman murdered 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre held a press conference and did what the group so-often does. He called for more guns. “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said, while calling for armed guards at every school in the nation. He took no responsibility for the role the NRA might play in deadly shootings by encouraging the nation to be flooded with more weapons and working to sink numerous efforts to pass gun control legislation. Instead, he has consistently pinned mass killings on seemingly everything else — video games, Hollywood and the media. “Then there’s the blood-soaked slasher films like ‘American Psycho’ and ‘Natural Born Killers’ that are aired like propaganda loops on ‘Splatterdays’ and every day,” he said during his 2012 press conference, adding that “fantasizing about killing people” is the “filthiest form of pornography.” The NRA took the same approach on Thursday, nearly a week after 59 people were killed and hundreds more were injured by a gunman at a country music festival in Las Vegas. “The NRA spends millions of dollars every year teaching safe and responsible gun ownership, and Hollywood makes billions promoting and glorifying gun violence,” Chris Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. “And then the same hypocrites come in and suggest we’re to blame for this.” LaPierre echoed that same message in a separate interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “This Hollywood crowd makes billions ... teaching gun irresponsibility to the American public,” he said. “The hypocrisy is beyond belief. They criticize me for saying people ought to be able to protect themselves from murderers, rapists and robbers, and then they make billions depicting every night those same situations.” In a 2013 report entitled “Bloody Reel,” gun control advocate Tom Diaz documented how the NRA and gun industry “exploit images of guns in extremely violent movies to sell the increasingly lethal military-style guns that define today’s civilian gun market.” He wrote, “it would be hard to find a more hypocritical statement” that the one made by LaPierre against Hollywood in the wake of Sandy Hook. “The fact is that neither movies nor video games, nor any other of the wondrous excuses the NRA can dream up are the cause of America’s gun violence epidemic,” Diaz wrote in the report. “Guns are.” The NRA did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment on Friday. The National Firearms Museum highlighted its Hollywood firearms exhibit in a 2010 promotional video. In it, museum senior curator Phil Schreier encourages viewers to “come by and visit this sequel and come see a true blockbuster here in Fairfax, where all the stars of the silver screen have descended into these galleries and are represented by some of the firearms that we’ve fallen in love with in our youth and our adulthood, wishing that we too could be like our matinee idols.” The video was deleted from the NRA’s YouTube channel, but not before being archived by Media Matters for America. Several other videos about the the NRA’s Hollywood collection remain online. In one, Schreier shows off the MP5 submachine gun from “Die Hard”. In another, Jim Supica, the museum’s manager, demonstrates shooting both blank and live rounds from the same type of gun. “Here to kick ass and chew gum,” Supica says before unloading a magazine of blanks at large jars filled with bubble gum, a reference to a line from the 1988 film “They Live”.

Over the weekend, White supremacists penetrated the University of Virginia and Charlottesville, VA so-called galvanizing to save the statute of the Confederacy’s head general Robert E. Lee. Footage from Friday night, August 11th, show several hundred White men and women marching around UVA’s campus spewing hate and doing Nazi salutes chanting, “White Lives Matter’, “You will not replace us,” and “Blood and Soil”. The latter Nazi slogan is particularly ironic, as their ideology asserts the blood of their descents coupled with the territory (i.e., soil) is the true measure of ethnicity, inherent ownership, and allowable occupancy -- in other words Whiteness as property rights. This claim of “Blood and Soil” are a great example of the perpetuation of White privilege and continual colonization of folks of color. The cultural amnesia, alternate reality, and White fragility on display the last three days is a case in point of how oxymoronic the “Blood and Soil” assertion is given this is RED land belonging to Indigenous Native American brothers and sisters -- this country’s first people. The Friday night pre-rally at UVA and Saturday Unite the Right rally at the recently renamed Emancipation Park (formerly Lee Park) memorializing Robert E. Lee was declared an unlawful assembly. Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency as violence broke loose. Saturday a protester deliberately drove his vehicle into a crowd of counterprotesters. One young woman is dead from being struck by the vehicle of the White supremacist, two Virginia policemen died in association with the rally, and over 30 were injured. The Unite the Right rally was initiated by self-proclaimed pro-White activist Jason Kessler, promoted by David Duke ex-Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and supported by Richard Spencer, a University of Virginia alumni who organized a protest in Charlottesville in May, where Spencer stated to attendees, "We will never back down from the cowardly attacks on our people and our heritage. What brings us together is that we are White. We are a people. We will not be replaced!" In July, North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan organized in Charlottesville cloaked in Klan robes and confederate flags protested over the statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson and the renaming of the Stonewall Jackson Park to Justice Park. This rally resulted in police use of tear gas on protesters. And rounding out the weekend was the Freedom rally sponsored by the Patriot Prayer Group in Seattle where many protesters carried shields, wore masks, and helmets. Again, little to suggest their intent was to engage in a peaceful demonstration. Old Fashioned Racism Revisited The racial divide is nothing new in the United States. Being Black in America we know all too well the psychological and sociological dilemmas in difference as race is often a defining tool in perpetuating discrimination and inequity in America. This country has always bear the scar of race and will continue to do so given the visceral hatred that festers and cultural misinformation much of White America holds about Black bodies, Black lives, Black realities. Anti-Black affect has become so mundane in character that the normalization of racism manifests in the countless unarmed Black men and women that die at the hands of police without law enforcement being culpable. The reality of race in America is often painted dichotomously — Black and White. Consider the militarization and police state at Black Lives Matter demonstrations which are by and large peaceful in contrast to the handling of Unite the Right rally protesters who did not seek peaceful demonstration with their helmets, shields, batons and visible hand guns. The Alt-Right Group behind the Unite the Right rally is largely White men that embrace alternative facts that suggest a world where racial justice, religious pluralism, and same-sex love are threatening to their very existence. This completely alternate universe and worldview is undergirded by a sense of entitlement, where White men are the victims of diversity, when progression in terms of social justice and equity are oppressive and found to be offensive. Hence, the call to action by White nationalists to “Take the country back” and “Make America great again”, all of which is playing out post-Trump with emboldened Whites freely engaging in hate speech and discriminatory acts as unfettered rights like the days of old. Former First Lady Michelle Obama at the 2012 Democratic National Convention said, “The presidency doesn't change who you are. It reveals who you are”. While many are disappointed by the lacking response of the outspoken, Twitter-addicted, unfiltered Trump to the Alt-Right’s White supremacy display, we are not surprised by his unresponsiveness. One of Trump’s first acts as commander in chief was appointing Stephen Bannon as an executive officer. Bannon, former executive chair of the far-right Breitbart News that serves as the primary platform for the Alt-Right was Trump’s early pick to serve as his chief adviser. Why would the President Trump point the finger and call out despicable acts of neo-nazi, White supremacists at the Charlottesville or Seattle rallies when he put one of them in the White House? There’s a saying that, “A fish rots from the head first”. This expression contends problems can be traced to the top and in this case, the country’s leadership. There is decaying humanity and deterioration in American race relations under the helm of Donald Trump. As a presidential candidate, Trump fanned the flames of racial hostility, peddled and profited from prejudice releasing the new “old” racism from the shadows. Now as president, Trump who usually always has something to say and someone to bash, has little to nothing to say in condemning White supremacy. He did not call the driver that plowed into counterprotesters a domestic terrorist nor did he emote empathy as he read his poorly scripted remarks. Trump did little to soothe those adversely affected by the racist rally but instead appeased his base, many of whom are White nationalists. Call for Activism in Halting Hostile Hallways As campuses begin to welcome students back to school this week and over the weeks to follow, we feel this past weekend demonstrates the importance of activist leadership and scholarship. Activist leaders and scholars don’t conflate First Amendment freedom of speech with hate speech or confuse the right to peaceably assemble with yielding to vitriol, thuggery, and inciting harm. The Friday night march of lighted torch carrying, armed White supremacists on university grounds harassing, threatening, and physically assaulting UVA students that were peacefully counterprotesting was anything but peaceful assembly or discourse that should be considered protected speech as there was explicit hate speech and acts. Activist leaders and scholars understand the true tenor and tone of White supremacists and would not confound counterprotesters calling for racial justice as equivalent. Activist leaders and scholars do not promote alternative facts and revisionist history but acknowledge white privilege, historical and contemporary racism, the need for decolonization and rebuke other repulsive forms of injustice. Activist leaders and scholars value the experiences of minoritized people, attest to the real, lived pain and trauma felt from racism and do not consider racism a thing of the past or argue that we are in a postracial society. Activist leaders and scholars recognize the history of oppression, that displays like those at UVA are not isolated events; understand that there still is not an even playing field, and that there is a depersonalization and pathology of White racism as evident in the emergence of the Alt-Right, their denial of reality, xenophobia, and ethnocentrism. Twenty-five years ago, Andrew Hacker authored the text Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal in which he argues that the deepest and most enduring division in American society is race. In 1992, Hacker felt that race not only defined America’s past, but would also be the defining issue of its future. It is daunting that in 2017, our children have to face the same aversive racism and bigotry. When it comes to race in America, it has yet to heal. At best, there is a scab however it is continually picked, spreading infection, with the wound deepening. The racial legacy of this country has remained White as the dominant group and norm reference by which all others are examined. One way dominance functions is by remaining unexamined. Activist leaders and scholars examine the disparate treatment, conditions, and outcomes that have routinely disadvantaged communities of color, religious minorities, LGBTQ folk and other marginalized groups. Activist leaders and scholars can see how Whiteness has been deemed the complexion for protection in upholding the status quo. Activist leaders and scholars do not turn a blind eye to inequities or are silent and complicit in the immutability of racial hatred. Activist leaders and scholars realize that it is a necessity to speak out against all forms of intolerance and call out heinous acts that promote concern for self at the expense of others. Activist leaders and scholars have a clear stance on diversity, know that it is not a euphemism for inclusion or equity and take deliberate action on their campuses to foster each. Activist leaders and scholars advance access, seek equitable outcomes, and actively work to have racially just and inclusive educational environments. Activist leaders and scholars communicate a clear message of institutional values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to constituents on and off campus. Activist leaders and scholars hold themselves and others accountable for being culturally proficient, racially just educators that deliver culturally relevant and responsive curriculum and programming to the campus and surrounding communities. Activist leaders and scholars understand the power of and need for dialogue that is ongoing across divergent groups in proactively identifying tensions and concerns, in providing agency across the campus community, and building a culture of inclusion. Activist leaders and scholars seek to improve poor policies and failed practices as well as create actionable strategies that produce culturally responsive approaches that lift all learners. Activist leaders and scholars openly share their disdain for discrimination in all forms, see the humanity in all people, and do not tolerate hateful behavior. Activist leaders and scholars debunk racial tropes and do not center racial meaning making assigned by Whites to people of color. Activist leaders and scholars employ critically race-conscious approaches in theory and practice. Activist leaders and scholars are not dismissive of inequities in race, power, and privilege in academia and look to dismantle segmentation of opportunity. Activist leaders and scholars understand that colorblindness negates racial oppression and instead seeks to illuminate the voices of the oppressed to own their stories, name their realities, as well as the intersections of their identities. Activist leaders and scholars don’t straddle the fence with neutrality or split hairs when it comes to the toxicity of White supremacy and racially motivated domestic terrorism. Activist leaders and scholars grasp that in order to remedy an ill and to solve a problem, you must first call it by name.

“First women in history to be ELECTED mayor of an Arab Capital, and that changes everything, especially the power of such a success,” activist Amira Yahyaoui tweeted. Twitter user Mohamed Ali Azaiez also congratulated Abderrahim, writing: “A historic day for Tunisia ― the first Arab country to enshrine women’s rights into law ― especially for Tunisian women. A new era for our democracy and huge challenges to serve our nation. Congratulations to Souad Abderrahim and to all Tunisians!”

If there’s one treat that could serve as the poster child of snack food pairings, milk and cookies would easily be the leading candidate. With that in mind and National Lemonade Day on the horizon, The Dirty Cookie decided to bake up something even sweeter. The Dirty Cookie, located in Tustin, California, has managed to pioneer the simple concept of milk and cookies into one of the most unique and tasty dessert trends of the year — shot glass shaped cookies, served with milk inside. Taking inspiration from their classic cookie shot glass, The Dirty Cookie and Hubert's Lemonade have teamed up to create the Strawberry Lemonade Cookie Shot, made with Hubert's Strawberry Lemonade. Using red cookie dough, lemon zest, Hubert’s Strawberry Lemonade, and the Dirty Cookie shot glass template, this partnership has created an imaginative and mouth-watering delicacy you can only find in Southern California. Served with a thin layer of white chocolate on the inside of the shot glass, the Strawberry Lemonade Cookie Shot might be the best thing invented since OG milk and cookies. Hurry in to The Dirty Cookie, because this after school special will end on September 3. By Evan Lancaster

For Architectural Digest, by John Gendall. Getty Images An image of pre-war Damascus, a Syrian city that includes ruins of ancient Roman structures. As the world watches the Syrian Civil War drag on, a Syrian architect, Marwa al-Sabouni, has dealt with the ravages of conflict by thinking ahead to the postwar rebuilding process. From her home in Syria, she spoke with AD about her vision for the future. Based in Homs, Syria’s third largest city, al-Sabouni has lived the experience of a civil war. “We basically don’t have a cityscape anymore,” she says, pointing to the fact that over 60 percent of Homs has been completely razed as a result of the conflict. There are pockets of livable neighborhoods, but these are remnants, each disconnected from the other by large, impassable swaths of rubbled areas. “Each neighborhood is surrounded by piles of collapsed buildings,” she reports. In 2012, al-Sabouni’s architecture studio, which once overlooked the main square in the central neighborhood of Old Homs, became one of those flattened buildings. Getty Images A prewar shot of Homs, Syria, in 2011. For the last two years, Homs has been mostly spared from major conflict, except for an occasional car bomb or mortar. But normalcy is a long way off. Not only was the April 7 airstrike by the United States a mere 20 miles southeast of the city, but there are daily struggles: Electricity is rationed for a few hours, which means that even the most basic tasks — laundry or charging a phone, for example — take advance planning. There are generators, but the fuel to power them can be scarce. As al-Sabouni characterizes it, “It’s a phase between war and peace.” Getty Images Three years later, in 2014, an image shows destroyed buildings in the Homs neighborhood of Khaldiyeh, formerly held by rebel fighters and later captured by Syrian government forces faithful to Bashar al-Assad. As with any tangled geopolitical condition, reasons abound for how the Syrian Civil War came to be. To this list, al-Sabouni would add architecture itself, charging that the built environment created some of the conditions that led to armed conflict — an argument she makes in her acclaimed book, The Battle for Home (Thames & Hudson, 2016). Whereas there had once been an urban fabric that had emerged over time, embedded in culture and place, 20th-century colonialism imposed construction systems and town planning that effectively suffocated the original city, replacing courtyard houses with concrete towers and cutting off neighborhoods into demographic ghettos. Her concern is that a similar approach will be used once the work of rebuilding begins. “Under the name of reconstruction, there is a temptation to allow investors to build mega-projects and buildings that could erase much of what is important for people here,” she says. “I am trying to help people communicate what kind of city they want to have — to have a connection to memory, a connection to history.” “I am not in favor of building exactly what we had before, but we should be able to assess what worked and what did not work,” al-Sabouni urges. “We should have a moment of contemplation before we start throwing up high-rise towers and concrete blocks.” One of her ideas is to reconsider building materials. As she explains, Homs is situated in a plane of rich volcanic soil, and over the centuries, its builders found in this landscape what would become one of the city’s principal building materials: black basalt. Despite its natural properties — “it’s very durable, very beautiful, and sustainable,” al-Sabouni says — it has become consigned to history, replaced by the concrete blocks that have come to define, blandly so, the landscape of Homs. She also looks to the long-standing local tradition of architectural pattern making. To walk through Old Homs is to be amidst a context of richly ornamented surfaces, all derived from craftspeople working in a local idiom. Not only as a matter of aesthetics, but also as an economic principle (support for local artisans), al-Sabouni sees an opportunity to restore some of this tradition in the rebuilding process. She is quick to clarify that she is not advocating a kind of historical pastiche, but instead an incorporation of local materials and an interpretation of traditional patterns in modern ways. As a kind of testament to Syria’s geopolitical complexity, one of the other characteristics of the architecture in Homs is its layering of history. These layers reference its many phases, from pre-Hellenism through the Ottoman Empire, with each leaving its distinct mark on the landscape. As al-Sabouni remarks, “It is not uncommon to have 2,000-year-old columns standing in a building with 200-year-old walls.” Courtesy of Marwa Al-Sabouni According to al-Sabouni, "It is not uncommon to have 2,000-year-old columns standing in a building with 200-year-old walls." Al-Sabouni sees this war, as tragic and challenging as it has been, as one more layer of Syria’s history. Once it is confined to the past tense, her hope is that her country will build better, more livable cities. She seems to view her personal experience in similar terms: “I am doing what I can in the moment that I’m in.”

We are all smiles now that the entrées have arrived. #pocketpeacock #club33 #happybirthdaytome #allthefood A post shared by Shiri Gutman (@percival_peacock_and_friends) on Apr 2, 2017 at 10:57pm PDT

Can I trust you? If I can trust you, I'll share a little secret with you. I want to buy from you! Of course, if I can't trust your business, I'm going to buy from a company that shows me I can trust them more than you. This is the subconscious mind of your customers whispering to their conscious brain while visiting your website and deciding who is going to win their hard-earned money today. Even in their sleep. It's harder than ever to earn the trust of a would-be customer, and the competition is only becoming more intense. With the entrepreneur being the new rockstar, starting your own business is almost as cool as being the lead singer or guitarist in a band -- almost. As a result, new businesses are opening their doors every day and looking to take your customers away from you. With such fierce competition, how do you stand out in a competitive marketplace? One key strategy to focus on is to leverage the power of social proof by implementing a reputation marketing system. Did you know that nearly 92% of consumers rely on online reviews before buying from a local business? According to Robert Cialdini, author of best-selling books Influence and Pre-Suasion, social proof is one of the critical elements to creating influence and trust in minds of others. Examples of social proof includes online reviews and testimonials. Think about it. When you need to make an important buying decision, do you read and evaluate reviews prior to buying? If you're like most people, you do. In this fast-paced world, people use reviews and testimonials to help them quickly make decisions and to prevent them from making costly mistakes. Facebook beta testing “reputation marketing.” It may come as little surprise when Facebook contacted one of our clients to invite them to a new "reputation marketing" system. Facebook recently invited this Port Saint Lucie chiropractor to participate in a beta-testing program that allows business owners to include their Facebook reviews as part of their advertising endeavors to win new business. Image credit: BizFamous The most important takeaway from this message is that the ratings only appear with an average rating of 4 stars and higher and only when there are more than 5 Facebook reviews. What's interesting to note is our client did not even have a Facebook ad account at the time and had never advertised on Facebook before. However, Premier Wellness Centers does have more than 100 Facebook reviews, so perhaps that played a role in being chosen for inclusion. Although currently in beta-testing, it would seem likely that the program will become widely available. “Wait a minute. But I don't advertise on Facebook?" Okay, perhaps you're marketing your business using other marketing channels like SEO and PPC. How influential are reviews and testimonials when it comes to Google's perspective? Google spills its guts about reputation marketing. Bright Local conducted a study on the impact of reviews on click-thru rates when people are searching on Google. With 6,283 people participating in the study, the results showed that businesses having an overall positive review rating got more clicks and visits to their website. In fact, going from a 3-star rating to a 5-star rating gets a business 25 percent more clicks from Google Local Pack. They also showed that negative reviews resulted in less clicks and visits to their website. Duh, right? However, having negative reviews meant getting less clicks and visits than if the business had no reviews at all. More importantly, when the participants were asked after the experiment why they picked the result they did, 56 percent of the people said they chose to visit the website of the business because it had positive reviews and star ratings. Even Google explicitly states in their help center, "Google review count and score are factored into local search ranking: more reviews and positive ratings will probably improve a business's local ranking." When Google flat out tells you more reviews and positive ratings will improve your local SEO efforts, you'd better invest in reputation marketing. If your competition is already ahead in their overall review count, you risk being left behind and possibly never catching up. Are you a local business owner? If so, you should be 100 percent focused on reputation marketing. If you're currently investing in SEO and paid advertising campaigns, and doing so without a reputation marketing system in place, you're wasting money every single day. Shifting your efforts into acquiring reviews will only enhance your search engine visibility and convert more visitors into customers. "Well, who cares. I don't own a local business. I sell my products online." Google announces new customer reviews program. Well there's good news for you too. Google just announced their new program called Google Customer Reviews, which replaces their Google Trusted Stores program. Their new system allows you to collect valuable reviews, for free. This new system not only helps companies collect customer reviews, but also empowers them to market their reputation online. The Google Customer Reviews are aggregated, along with other sources and data providers, and can be displayed in marketing channels like Product Listing Ads and AdWords text ads. Google states that showing your seller rating in your text ads can increase the CTR of your ads by up to 10 percent. Google even offers a Google Customer Reviews Badge that you can include on your website, which in theory should help provide social proof that can help boost conversions and win you more customers. Image credit: Google Adding testimonials and reviews to your online or ecommerce store matters too. In this article about testimonials and reviews, there is an abundance of references and examples showing how even the simplest review statements can boost conversion rates by 34 percent. That’s why all companies must have a solid reputation marketing system in place. You can call them reviews, testimonials or stories, but ultimately your business needs to provide a memorable customer experience that compels your customers to want to positively review your business and share their story.

I wanted to ask Barcelona after a few days where have you been all my life. While I am always thrilled to visit London, Paris, and Rome, Barcelona was already in my blood like a hip younger sister. The city has many advantages over the triumvirate, it is more affordable, the sun always seems to be shining, and I could eat paella for dinner every night. As a design aficionado, I could not help but fall in love with a city essentially created by architect Antoni Gaudi in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. His still unfinished cathedral, the Sagrada Familia, is the most visited tourist site in all of Spain. One of my favorite places of all times to people watch is Barcelona’s La Rambla, a wide pedestrian mall that extends for 1.2 kilometers. After almost a week touring Southern Spain, I would rate this part of Europe the most unheralded. UNESCO seems to agree since Spain is the country that has the most World Heritage Sites in the world. I arrived in Barcelona via Iceland courtesy of a flight from WOW air to board one of Windstar’s 3 sailboats, the Wind Surf. Toss all the stereotypes that you have heard about cruises, Windstar correctly bills itself as the “anti-cruise” cruise. The cruise line has partnered with the James Beard Foundation and Veuve Cliquot champagne to provide food and alcohol of a higher quality than is normally available on cruise ships. For those who hate standing in long buffet lines, waiter service, with tables situated outside for breakfast and lunch, is available at all meals. The reflecting pool of the Alhambra, built 3 centuries earlier, was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal in India. Most of Spanish popular culture that Americans are most familiar with such as Flamenco dancers, bull fights, and Don Quixote, have their origins in Madrid which I didn’t visit on this trip. They are not native to Southern Spain although clever businessmen sometimes put on a show for tourists. Southern Spain is heavily influenced by its conquerors, primarily the Romans and Moors. Our first stop in Tarragona, which had been the most important Roman city in Spain, was at an amphitheater where a Christian bishop and his two deacons were burned at the stake in 259 A.D. The reconstructed site, which peacefully overlooks the sea, was a reminder of the voluminous amounts of blood that has been spilt in the name of religion. Moorish sultans build the majestic Alhambra, which was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal built 3 centuries later, in Granada, Andalusia. It is perhaps the most American historical site outside the United States because this is where Queen Isabella agreed to sponsor Christopher Columbus’s exploration of the New World which lead to the discovery of America. The juxtaposition of the beauty of the Alhambra, which served as the inspiration for the Taj Mahal in India, with its rich history makes this UNESCO World Heritage Site a must see. The grand architecture of the complex features columns, fountains, and a reflecting pool as well as intricately designed tile and wood work on the floors, walls and doors. One can only marvel that all of this was built between 1238 and 1358 A.D. Malaga in the Costa Del Sol A trip to Spain, whose coastline is on the Mediterranean Sea, wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the beach. Our first beach break was in Ibiza, a favorite of jet-setters. Footballers (soccer players) such as David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo and Victoria Secret models vacation there. While New York is the city that never sleeps, Ibiza is the town that doesn’t wake up until dusk. The decadent//fashionista/partying vibe of the resort is copped by everyone who visits. Normal beach-goers step up their fashion game in order to blend in. Stores mostly sell clothes that no father of a teenage girl would approve his daughter wearing. The nightclubs and disco only open after most of us would normally be asleep. The beaches of Ibiza function as an open air market where everything can be bought and sold or at least tried on. Malaga, located in the further south in the Costa del Sol, offers a mellower, low key atmosphere but just as beautiful of a coastline. All Spanish tourists spend an inordinate amount of time in churches. To paraphrase the bank robber Willie Sutton, it’s because that’s where the great artwork is. The main cathedral in a small town will have paintings and frescoes that are centuries old. One inexplicable, idiosyncratic element of Spanish churches is that quite a few have been left in a permanent state of incompleteness. Initially, they were not completed due to a lack of funds, but then some towns decided the unfinished state make their church unique. Tetouan, Morocco, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our stop in Tangiers, Morocco was my first visit to the African continent. The tour guide, probably on orders from the government, spent much of the tour praising the new king of Morocco, King Mohammed VI. He proudly extolled the supposed virtues of the king which include that he has instituted more democratic reforms than his father but also the dubious virtue of having only one wife that he allows to be seen in public. We made the long trek to Tetouan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was a disappointment. If you have seen one Arab market or (shuk), you have seen them all. Still, the trip ended on a high note because we stopped at a former palace that has now been turned into an art school. Even former palaces are still great places to hang out. Windstar made effort to accommodate my interest in learning about Jewish life in Morocco. There are still 18,000 Jews living in Morocco despite most of them leaving when the state of Israel was created in 1947. Rich Jewish families, not the community or the state, own the remaining synagogues. Unfortunately, I could not visit the one in Tangiers because the current owner lives in Paris now. Palacio Nacional de Sintra, Portugal Having heard frequently Spain and Portugal in the same breathe, I had wrongly assumed they would be similar. Although they are both former kingdoms that share a Mediterranean coastline, the look and feel of them could not have been more different down to the dissimilar stones used to pave their streets. The rough and tumble of the La Rambla in Barcelona contrasted with the elegance of Lisbon’s Liberty Avenue which took its inspiration from the Champ de Elysees in Paris. While Portugal is proud that they stayed neutral during World War II, Spanish General Francisco Franco sided with Hitler. As for the Portuguese national dishes of sardines and cod fish with boiled potatoes, I could only wonder why after eating paella and exquisite pork in Spain. The Portuguese made up for up with ginjinha, a cherry liquor served in a chocolate cup. A Windstar excursion took us through the windy Portuguese countryside with stops in Calais and Sintra. The excursion inexplicably did not include a tour of the glittering crown jewel, Palacio Nacional de Sintra. Some of us prevailed on our tour guide to allow us time to see the palace before going home. I, for one, was not going to miss the frescoes of 27 gold-collared swans in the Swan Room or the collection of 72 shields of the leading 16th century families. While on the cruise, I did a combination of Windstar organized excursions and self-guided tours. Frankly, I needed the kick in the pants of a tour guide to fully explore a city. With so much to do off the ship, Windstar’s nightly entertainment is different than the typical cruise line. The crew pours their heart into a show one night during an 8 day cruise. The other nights are more low-key. The two bars offer bands that play such catchy dance music that even couch potatoes like me couldn’t resist getting up and dancing. A shout out to “High Society” for keeping me up past my bedtime every night. The Wind Surf also differentiates itself from other operators by creating a family atmosphere on board. Its 310 passenger capacity lends itself to this with the convivial environment even extending to the crew. Most of the crew call Captain Gerry Hogan’s wife “mom.” The captain hosts passengers at the captain’s table for dinner although my dinner invitation on my next cruise will probably be lost in the mail since I spilled red wine all over the captain’s white uniform. Naturally, Captain Hogan took it stride.

WASHINGTON ― Sen. Bernie Sanders’ televised town hall on economic inequality drew about 1.7 million live viewers during an online broadcast Monday night. The broadcast provided the Vermont independent with an opportunity to expand his new alternative media revue beyond “Medicare for all” to the broader issue of economic inequality, which he maintains that commercial media outlets frequently ignore. “What I would say to our friends in the corporate media: Start paying attention to the reality of how many people in our country are struggling economically every single day ― and talk about it,” Sanders declared at one point during the discussion. Not content to wait for the cable television channels and newspapers to take him up on his advice, Sanders partnered with The Guardian, The Young Turks, NowThis and Act.tv to do just that for about an hour and a half on Monday night. Three co-hosts aided Sanders in his efforts: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), New School economist Darrick Hamilton and filmmaker Michael Moore. Together they interviewed three guests with specialized knowledge of the economic and political structures suppressing economic mobility and funneling wealth upward. Catherine Coleman Flowers, a founder of the anti-poverty Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise Community Development Corp., spoke about the destitute poverty of the rural black community in Lowndes County, Alabama, where exposure to untreated sewage prompted a rare outbreak of hookworm. Cindy Estrada, a vice president of the United Auto Workers, addressed the role of organized labor in raising living standards ― and how its decline has lowered them. And Gordon Lafer, a political scientist from the University of Oregon, explained how corporate interests neutralized public opposition through campaign donations and massive lobbying efforts. An audience of about 450 people attended the town hall in person in the U.S. Capitol auditorium. An additional 100 people viewed the event on monitors in an overflow room. The rest of what Sanders’ staff estimates were 1.7 million live viewers saw the event online. (HuffPost’s back-of-the-envelope tally from the social media pages of Sanders, Warren and the various digital partners produced a similar figure.) Billed as a seminar on the causes of, and solutions to, rising income and wealth inequality, the town hall often doubled as a progressive pep rally for social democratic reforms. During Estrada’s appearance, for example, Warren’s homage to labor unions elicited thunderous applause. “Unions built America’s middle class. It’ll take unions to rebuild America’s middle class,” she said. For his part, Moore focused on the failure of the Democratic Party, which fashions itself as the party of working people, to stand true to its mission. This line of inquiry took Moore first into a discussion of the ostensibly Democratic leanings of the three wealthiest men in the country ― Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos ― and later into a riff on the Democrats who voted to authorize the Iraq War exactly 15 years earlier. Moore appeared to be saying that letting Democrats off the hook had contributed to the collapse of the middle class. “It’s so important that we hold the people who say they’re for the people ― hold their feet to the fire! And if they’re not going to do the job they say they’re going to do, let’s get somebody else,” he concluded to loud ovation. The origins of American inequality that Sanders and his allies sketched on Monday are by now familiar to left-leaning activists immersed in the works of Robert Reich and Jacob Hacker, among other progressive thinkers. In this history, former President Ronald Reagan ushered in a new era of corporate domination with his symbolic decision to fire striking air traffic controllers in August 1981. The move was the opening salvo in a prolonged war against organized labor that steadily diminished unions’ ranks and reduced their clout, according to numerous liberal scholars. A host of tax breaks, deregulatory measures, corporate-skewed trade agreements and safety net reductions backed by members of both parties in subsequent decades served to heighten the inequality generated in the 1980s. The result, Sanders said in his introductory remarks, is a country where “the top 10th of 1 percent owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 99 percent. “In recent years, we have seen incredible growth in the number of billionaires, while 40 million Americans continue to live in poverty and we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on Earth,” he continued. A prominent feature of the evening’s analysis that Sanders’ critics have sometimes accused him of downplaying was an explicit breakdown of the racial roots of American poverty. Flowers, who invited the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty to witness the squalid conditions in Lowndes County, argued that state authorities have failed to address the issue of inadequate sewage systems because of entrenched racist views. “Some of those same types of attitudes that existed prior to the 1960s, the structural racism that was reinforced by racial terror, is still in existence today,” Flowers said. Hamilton suggested that the universal programs Sanders favors would not erase the racial inequities that follow black Americans at every level of socioeconomic and educational attainment. He noted that a black household headed by a college graduate has, on average, less wealth than a white household headed by a high school dropout. “So when Sen. Sanders proposes that we should have tuition-free public education ― absolutely, but as an end unto itself. We exaggerate the returns from education, particularly to marginalized groups,” Hamilton said. Sanders, Warren and Moore all endorsed relatively well-known left-leaning solutions to inequality, including a $15 minimum wage, stronger unions, free college education and paid family leave policies. Perhaps in keeping with his intersectional focus, Hamilton embraced more radical measures. His preferred solutions included the creation of trust funds for every American at birth, a federal job guarantee, the replacement of private payday lenders with postal banking and an end to academic tracking in grade school, which he argued often replicates racial segregation, even within relatively integrated schools.

The 19-year-old attended People’s “Ones to Watch” event in Los Angeles on Wednesday sporting a bare face, a draped Vivienne Westwood dress and flat sandals. Yes. Girl. Jerritt Clark via Getty Images Gorgeous. Going makeup-free has become somewhat of a movement among celebrities in an effort to challenge traditional standards of beauty. But such moments are usually saved for Instagram or everyday life. As a result, it’s especially refreshing to see a young star like Jackson take her efforts to the red carpet. But considering her stance on beauty standards, it’s not entirely surprising. In an August interview with i-D, she explained that being herself and helping people feel comfortable in their own skin is “a big reason” she wants to “change this fashion/beauty stigma.” Jerritt Clark via Getty Images No makeup, no problem. “I’m not symmetrical, I’m not a size zero, I eat hella burgers and endless amounts of pizza,” she said. “I can’t fit into a runway sample size of designer clothes, I have scars and stretch marks and acne and I have cellulite. I’m human. Not a dress-up doll. The idea that we all have to fit one idea of beauty is outrageous and ridiculous because ‘perfection’ is just an opinion.” In our opinion, that outlook is perfection ― and so is the red carpet look. Check out just a few of the other celebs who have gone public without makeup below. A post shared by ELLE Brasil (@ellebrasil) on Aug 31, 2017 at 12:53pm PDT Since declaring herself makeup-free in 2016, Keys has become a poster child for natural beauty, appearing on a slew of magazine covers and red carpets without makeup. A post shared by John Legend (@johnlegend) on Aug 29, 2017 at 1:23pm PDT John Legend shared this photo of Teigen in August alongside the caption “no filter necessary.” Agreed, John. A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears) on Aug 28, 2017 at 2:00pm PDT Spears took a break from her Las Vegas residency and documented it on social media, going mostly makeup free “if you don’t count the leftover mascara under my right eye...” she wrote on Instagram. A post shared by Katie Couric (@katiecouric) on Jan 4, 2017 at 1:22am PST Couric reprised her role as “Today” host back in January, and the schedule proved to be a bit too early for glam. Same, Katie. GABUNIONWADE/SNAPCHAT Gorgeous. Union paid tribute to Keys in a gorgeous, makeup-free Snapchat in October 2016. Glamour Makeup free is the way to be. Kunis made waves when she posed makeup-free for Glamour’s August 2016 issue. A post shared by Gwen Stefani (@gwenstefani) on May 12, 2016 at 10:36pm PDT

As much as New York Times columnist David Brooks likes to distance himself from President Donald Trump’s brand of republicanism, there is at least one thing the two men have in common: They both have a horribly inaccurate picture of why women get abortions after 20 weeks, what the procedure entails and the toll abortion restrictions take on women. The medical reality of why parents seek abortions after the midpoint of their second trimester is so utterly tragic that contrasting it with Brooks’ fantasy would be funny if it weren’t so infuriating. In his most recent column, Brooks imagined that he was a Democratic consultant asking party leaders to consider dropping the right to abortion as a political priority. He fixated on the fact that this week, Democratic lawmakers voted as a block against banning abortions at 20 weeks, even though some babies can be born as early as 22 weeks and survive outside of the womb. He argued that Democrats could strike a blow against Republicans by dropping abortion as a political issue, and that while donors might not like it, most of the voters would. “One of our talking points is that late-term abortions are extremely rare,” said Imaginary Consultant Brooks. “If they are extremely rare, why are we giving them priority over all of our other issues combined?” We’ll grant Brooks one thing — so-called “late-term” abortions, or terminations after 20 weeks, are exceedingly rare. Of the approximately 650,000 abortions that were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in 2014, a little over 1 percent of those abortions took place after 21 weeks gestation, which is about halfway through the second trimester. The vast majority of those abortions — 92 percent — were performed before the end of the first trimester, or within 13 weeks or less. Abortion is legal and available in the U.S., but 43 states already have some kind of time limit on when the procedure can take place. So why do a tiny minority of women choose to get abortions after 20 or so weeks? That’s a tricky one to answer. Because hospitals are not required to report the pregnancy terminations they conduct for fetal anomalies or to preserve the life of the mother, no one can accurately estimate the proportion of late second-trimester abortions that take place for medical reasons as opposed to other reasons. But there is enough research to know that abortions after 20 weeks are rare, and that they happen either for medical reasons or because abortion access is so uneven and inconvenient that women are struggling to get them in a timely manner. We know there are several fetal abnormalities that only become apparent during the second trimester — usually discovered during an anomaly scan that takes place anytime between 18 to 22 weeks. These abnormalities can be fatal and include things like irregular development of the brain, lack of vital organs and genetic conditions. We also know there are certain maternal health conditions that either arise or become more serious once women enter the second trimester, like pre-eclampsia or heart failure. These reasons for terminating pregnancies are born out in the stories of women who have been brave enough to come forward about their own second-trimester abortions. Alexandra W., a woman from San Francisco, told HuffPost in 2016 about the anguish she felt when she decided to abort her son, the result of a very wanted pregnancy. Because of a rare birth defect in which his kidneys didn’t form properly, her son was not urinating in the womb, which meant that there wasn’t enough amniotic fluid in his sac to cushion him and allow him to develop normally. She decided to terminate the pregnancy at almost 21 weeks because he was being crushed. Cecily Kellogg, a woman who had an abortion at nearly six months’ gestation in 2004, told USA Today in 2012 that she had developed severe pre-eclampsia, and one of the twins she was carrying had already died when she and her doctors decided to perform an abortion on the other twin to save her life. We hear you, Brooks ― anecdotes are not data. But how many gut-wrenching stories, published in mainstream media and personal blogs, do you need to read before you realize that an abortion after 20 weeks is often an unwanted procedure of last resort? As for second-trimester abortions that take place for other reasons, a 2013 survey of 272 women who sought abortions after 20 weeks for nonmedical reasons found that they generally experienced logistical delays after making the decision to end their pregnancies, even if they decided to end their pregnancies while still in the first trimester. Almost two-thirds of these women said they delayed their procedure because they were raising money for travel, the procedure itself and other costs related to the termination. Compared to women who got abortions in the first trimester, they were also four times more likely to travel more than three hours to get to the abortion facility, and twice as likely to say they had problems securing medical insurance to cover the abortion. In his column, Brooks imagines that the overturning of Roe v. Wade would be a happy outcome for the Democratic Party because “the pro-life movement would turn its attention away from national elections” and “single-issue anti-abortion voters would no longer be automatic Republicans.” In reality, there’s evidence that Democrats stand to lose more voters than they would gain if they dropped abortion rights. There is also ample research that more abortion restrictions would make a second-trimester procedure more likely. If Roe v. Wade were overturned and, as Brooks so glibly put it, 21 states outlaw abortion at any stage, access problems like the scenarios described in the study would only get worse. Women in states where abortion was banned would have to travel farther, be gone longer and raise more money for the procedure — resulting in even more second-trimester abortions. Brooks is asking Democrats to make a Faustian deal: drop the right to abortion for women and gain more votes and political influence for other legislative priorities. What he doesn’t acknowledge, or doesn’t want to understand, is that to capitulate on abortion rights to gain the vote of a person who lives with a fantasy about why 20-week abortions happen in the first place not only endangers the lives and well-being of several thousand flesh-and-blood women with real problems, but it will also end up increasing the rate of second-trimester abortions anyway. Brooks ends his column by asking Democrats to rethink their priorities and assess what the country needs most right now.

In a surprisingly candid interview, Britain’s Prince Harry has revealed his struggles in the wake of Princess Diana’s death in 1997. The 32-year-old prince told The Telegraph that his way of dealing with his mother’s sudden death in a car accident in Paris was to simply shut down his emotions. “I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12, and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years, has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but my work as well,” said Harry. He added: “My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum because why would that help? It’s only going to make you sad. It’s not going to bring her back.” POOL New / Reuters Britain's Prince Harry talks about how he dealt with his mother's death in order to battle the stigma surrounding opening up about personal problems and to encourage people to get help. By the time he was in his 20s, Harry said he felt like he was going to explode. “I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle,” he said. Harry spoke about his experiences as part of The Telegraph’s series of “Mad World” podcasts about how people grapple with mental health issues. The prince participated in order to battle the stigma surrounding opening up about personal problems and to encourage people to get help. Harry and his brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have also set up the charity Heads Together to promote mental health. As for his emotional struggles, including two years of “total chaos,” Harry said he finally sought counseling at the age of 28 and started opening up about his feelings. He also said boxing lessons helped after he came very close to “punching someone.” Now, he’s in a “good place.” Harry encouraged others to learn from his struggles. “The experience I have had is that once you start talking about it, you realize that actually you’re part of quite a big club,” he said.

Leah Millis / Reuters Discussing school shootings, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told community leaders in his home state of Kentucky, “I don’t think at the federal level there’s much that we can do other than appropriate funds.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday he thinks the federal government can’t do much to help stop school shootings. “I don’t think at the federal level there’s much that we can do other than appropriate funds,” McConnell said while speaking to community leaders in Danville, Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. McConnell said he feels heightened security in schools may help prevent shootings but argued that’s not the responsibility of the U.S. Congress. “You would think, given how much it takes to get on an American plane or given how much it takes to get into courthouses, that this might be something that we could achieve, but I don’t think we could do that from Washington, I think it’s basically a local decision,” he said. “It’s a darn shame that’s where we are, but this epidemic is something that’s got all of our attention,” he added. McConnell, who has received money from the National Rifle Association, has repeatedly expressed his sadness over school shootings, regularly offering thoughts and prayers while working against gun control legislation in the Senate. The debate over gun control was renewed this week after five people were shot and killed in a Maryland newsroom.

WASHINGTON ― When John Kelly took over as President Donald Trump’s chief of staff last July, many in the Washington establishment breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this man, a retired Marine Corps general who received praise from both sides of the political aisle as well as the media, would be able to restore some dignity to the White House. He would “dial back the drama” and “turn the White House around.” Kelly’s perceived effectiveness was enhanced by the fact that he looked like many people’s expectation of a leader: an older white man with a military bearing. One article noted his “square-jawed” features and said he would be “an imposing and strait-laced figure.” But there’s still been plenty of drama over the past eight months. Trump continues to tweet about random celebrities and make shocking comments about other nations. Now he’s also rapidly hiring all his favorite people on cable news to help him run the nation. And Kelly has been anything but a grown-up holding down “the adult wing of the new regime.” In fact, he’s revealed himself to be a bit of a jerk, even in a job known to attract jerks. (President Barack Obama once joked about how his first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, lost a middle finger while working at Arby’s, which “rendered him practically mute.”) Rex Tillerson faced a fair amount of humiliation last week when he learned Trump had fired him by reading the news on Twitter. But Kelly decided to make Tillerson’s week even shittier: He told reporters that he had informed Tillerson he would soon be fired at a time when the secretary of state, who was suffering through a stomach bug, was sitting on the toilet. The Daily Beast reported that journalists who were in the off-the-record briefing with the White House chief of staff were “stunned” that this mature adult would share such a personal, embarrassing detail about a man who had just been ousted so unceremoniously. Maybe Kelly just thought it was a funny anecdote. He once made a joke about how Trump should use a sword on the press. Ha. Ha. Saul Loeb/Getty Images Rob Porter (left) lost his job as White House staff secretary after domestic violence accusations became public. Kelly also created a significant scandal for Trump when he protected then-White House aide Rob Porter in the face of domestic violence accusations ― with photographic evidence ― made by his ex-wives. Kelly tried to spin his own involvement, claiming that he and other top White House officials didn’t know about the physical abuse allegations and took immediate action when they found out. But other White House aides disputed his characterization, saying Kelly looked the other way on Porter, another official who was supposed to be one of the grown-ups in the room. Trump reportedly blamed not Kelly, but White House communications director Hope Hicks, who was dating Porter at the time. The president believed Hicks put her personal feelings over his best interests. And Kelly, according to a new New York Magazine story, had trouble dealing with Hicks because she was a woman in power. “He was extraordinarily dismissive of her. He would refer to her as ‘the high-schooler,’ he would joke about how she was inexperienced, she was in over her head, she was immature,” a former senior White House said. “He doesn’t like a woman that potentially has some position of power over him. He thinks women should be subservient to him. If you look at his relationship with Ivanka or Hope — women who aren’t subservient to him — he has problems with those people.” This description fits perfectly with what Kelly himself has said about women ― that they should be “sacred,” like they were in the good old days. In the past, of course, there were fewer women in positions of power in places like the government. Last October, Kelly had another run-in with a powerful woman. When Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) revealed the callous comments that Trump had made to the family of a fallen U.S. service member, Kelly publicly criticized her and told reporters about past comments from the congresswoman that made her seem selfish and self-glorifying. Video of Wilson’s remarks revealed that Kelly had completely misrepresented them, yet like his boss, he refused to apologize and retract his claims. Kelly has also asserted that the Civil War was caused by “the lack of ability to compromise.” It’s not clear what compromise on the central issue of the war ― slavery ― Kelly would like to have seen.

Frightening statistics gets many people’s mind wondering whether there is hope of their personal data being kept safe anymore. 68 percent of internet users experienced a breach in data. Although there has been a 73 percent increase in spending to counteract it, 88 percent still feel vulnerable to data threats. These statistics have resulted in internet users taking the matter into their own hands by taking whatever safety measures they can resort to. On the top of the list is deleting browser history at 71 percent followed by deleting cookies at 67 percent and deleting cache at 61 percent. Despite all this, nothing was enough to douse the effect of threats to their data. In search of solace, internet users took shelter in Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) as more VPN companies promised to provide them with privacy and to keep their data safe. However, in recent years, the truth has been exposed that VPNs don’t actually provide the privacy we all thought they do. The Hidden Truth About VPNs You’re working remotely and you need to get some information at the company you are working for. Hooking up to an available Wi-Fi signal could lead to the public server having access to the sensitive data of the company you are working for. People grew increasingly worried about the possibility of an external body gaining access to information that will be used to cause harm. VPNs came in to enable internet users connect safely to websites without having to worry that the data from that site will be compromised. It achieves this by allowing the internet user to connect to the VPN company’s servers so as to escape data invasion. But that doesn’t mean that VPNs are really private. One of the reasons internet users tend to trust VPNs is because they are made to believe that VPNs keep them anonymous. This is far from the truth. Being anonymous is something that is nearly impossible to achieve because the VPN company you are relying on to keep you anonymous knows you and identifies you. The same goes for keeping logs of the VPN user. Logs act as a record of all the activities that take place within a particular period. Through the logs you can know what activities took place and you can trace behavioral patterns and specific sites the user visited. The VPN companies that say that they prevent logs are only partially correct. Although others may not have access to the VPN user’s logs, the VPN company keeps the logs. What Then is the Most Viable Solution to Protect Your Data? The fight continues as more and more people grow concerned about how their data is being used. The knowledge of what could happen when their data is compromised it is really scary. For example, in 2016 it was discovered that 41 million Americans were victims of identity theft. Carefully examine the VPN company you want to use and get your facts straight It’s difficult to tell for certain which VPN is the best, but there are certain features to look out for. Most people look out for the cheapest, the one with the most features and the one that ranks on the top of Google search results. Unknown to them their focus ought to be on features that mean the most. Let’s assume you are looking for a suitable VPN, for example VPN Unlimited or some other VPN of your choice. Before you go for them, you need to do some background research on the VPN provider. Do people trust the VPN? How is the speed like? Does it provide good customer support that will be ready to give you quick response when you’re experiencing some issues? Mind the type of information you make known online Of course, although you are making use of a trusted VPN, you also have a part to play to protect your data. And there are many other ways of keeping your data safe. Taking certain safety measures like clearing the history, cache and cookies of your browser after using the internet is a good place to start.

Like many Americans, I have been appalled by the images of hatred and bigotry broadcast from Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend, and my heart breaks at the loss of another life from what appears to have been an act of domestic terrorism. The fact that these events took place on and around the campus of one of the most distinguished universities in the country adds to my sense of horror and disgust. Communities are not built from shared geography alone, nor by traditional songs and ceremony, nor by the simple exhortation of a leader to “come together.” Communities are built by a strong, shared commitment to core values. At Kenyon, this includes our commitments to rigorous inquiry and creative expression; to respect and empathy toward others, including individuals with different backgrounds and experiences; to the importance of dissent in a democracy; and to the civic principles of liberty, justice and equity. Our commitments to respect and empathy for others and to the importance of dissenting viewpoints does not default to a relativist stance that every issue or action has “many sides.” In fact, more often than not respect and empathy demand that we take a side. Students of world history and culture readily recognize the hateful rhetoric on display in Charlottesville and know where it has led in the past, whether in 1930s Germany or in the lynch mobs of the U.S. This is an instance where our shared values require us to reject clearly and unequivocally the forces of racial hatred and bigotry. The Charlottesville nightmare stands in stark contrast to the activities on the Kenyon campus as the summer winds down and the new school year begins. On Sunday, over 100 members of the local community gathered on Middle Path to express our anger and sadness about the events of the weekend (photo above). We also welcomed 36 incoming international students this weekend, from 19 different countries, to the campus they will call home for the next four years. And in a few days, we will open new spaces in downtown Gambier for the Snowden Multicultural Center and Unity House, as well as new housing for our volunteer firefighters, placing our values of diversity and community service quite literally in the center of our campus.

Move over, giant chicken. President Donald Trump has a new inflatable parody ready to follow him around. And this one is even uglier. Trumpy the Rat made its debut near Trump Tower in New York on Monday during the president’s first visit to his home since taking office in January. Drew Angerer via Getty Images Trump the Rat makes its debut near Trump Tower in New York City. To raise the trolling level up an extra notch or two, Trumpy the Rat features Confederate flag cufflinks, a Russian flag on its lapel, and ― of course ― a Trump-style hairdo. The 15-foot inflatable rodent was designed by artist Jeffrey Beebe, and was brought to fruition with BravinLee and a Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $10,000 in the spring. It’s modeled on the inflatable rat that union workers sometimes use to protest non-union workers at job sites. “I was always passing by these non-union construction sites on my bike and I saw these inflatable rats,” John Post Lee of BravinLee told the New York Daily News. “I was amazed at how effective they were. I marveled at how disgusting they were.” The creators vowed on Kickstarter to position the rat as close as possible to Trump Tower. “It takes just 2-3 minutes to inflate the rat to its 15’ height, so it might be possible to get it pretty close to the sociopath-in-chief’s super-vulgar-tacky rat’s nest!” they wrote. Drew Angerer via Getty Images Trumpy the Rat stands at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, a few blocks from Trump Tower. While New York City is known for giant rats, this one might be ready to break out of Manhattan. “The intent is to fabricate an inflatable Trump Rat and get it out into the world, keep it circulating, and loan it out to protests,” the Kickstarter campaign notes.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. ― The nutrition children receive during their first 1,000 days ― from conception until their second birthday ― has a profound impact on how they develop. Without the proper nutrition during that window of time, young brains will not grow to their fullest potential, diminishing the kids’ opportunities for the rest of their lives, according to public health and medical organizations. But while the World Bank, USAID, the World Health Organization and UNICEF push to improve early nutrition among impoverished communities in developing nations, there has been much less emphasis on the first 1,000 days in the United States. That’s not to say that all is well here: Over half of the country’s infants are on nutritional assistance and the top vegetable eaten by U.S. toddlers is the french fry. Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a groundbreaking policy statement highlighting the importance, and irreversibility, of the 1,000-day window. “Failure to provide key nutrients during this critical period of brain development may result in lifelong deficits in brain function despite subsequent nutrient repletion,” the AAP Committee on Nutrition said. In other words, no amount of catch-up can completely fix the lost time for brain formation. Malnourishing the brain can produce a lower IQ; lead to a lifetime of chronic medical problems; increase the risk of obesity, hypertension and diabetes; and cost that individual future academic achievement and job success. The impact can even be generational, perpetuating a cycle of poverty for lifetimes to come. It’s unclear exactly how many kids in the U.S. are malnourished, but there’s some disturbing evidence: A quarter of toddlers don’t receive enough iron, 1 in 5 children are obese, 1 in 6 households with children are food-insecure, and over half of infants participate in the federal Women, Infants, and Children program for supplemental nutrition. These children’s futures are at stake, said Lucy Sullivan, executive director for the nonprofit 1,000 Days, which advocates here and abroad for better early nutrition. “The first 1,000 days matter for all the days that follow.” Sara Terry/VII For HuffPost Mylexus Patrick (center) examines the label of a sweet tea bottle to check for sugar during a nutrition exercise at Great Beginnings for Black Babies. Missing Clear Guidance Mylexus Patrick was pretty pleased with the juice box her toddler, Kyler Washington, was drinking from during a semi-monthly infant health class in Inglewood, California. After all, it contained 100 percent apple juice. Then, one of the class instructors at Great Beginnings for Black Babies ― a nonprofit promoting the healthy growth and development of infants and children from low-income families in the Los Angeles area ― pointed out how much sugar was in it. “Well, that kinda messed me up a little bit,” the 27-year-old pregnant mother of three said. “I came in with the little juice pouch for my son and it’s like ‘organic, no sugar added.’” They’re talking [about sugar in drinks] and I’m like ‘not my kids.’ And I read the label and I’m like oh, six of these spoonfuls, huh. OK.” Parents face a nutritional minefield every day, but it can feel small in scale. After all, it’s just one juice box, one piece of pizza, one bag of Cheetos. And it’s not as if the federal government has set forth any standardized dietary recommendations for children from the womb through age 2. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to offer guidance on that age group’s specific needs in the upcoming 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Millions of kids will have lived through their 1,000 days by then. The challenge is to move parents today from a general understanding that nutrition is important to a recognition that poor nutrition in those early days does quantifiable damage, said Roger Thurow, senior fellow for global food and agriculture at the Chicago Council of Global Affairs and author of the book The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children – And the World. Hopefully the AAP’s newfound focus can help make “1,000 days” a household term here in the U.S. as much as it is aboard, Thurow said. “Science, academics and sociologists are coming together to say, ‘Wow, this can take a toll.’” We take nutrition for granted in the U.S. because we think there is this abundance of food and children are of course going to get fed. Lucy Sullivan, executive director for 1,000 Days Perhaps the first hurdle is that when Americans think of malnutrition, they think of children wasting away. But according to the AAP, malnutrition includes both undernutrition, which is a lack of macro- and micronutrients, and obesity, which is the “provision of excessive calories, often at the expense of other crucial nutrients.” “Every pregnant woman who comes through the door wants to do better [nutritionally], but a lot of times the changes take longer than the nine months they have,” said Raena Granberry, the community outreach liaison for Great Beginnings for Black Babies. Nearly half of U.S. women gain an excessive amount of weight during pregnancy, which in turn can lead to higher rates of obesity in children, according to the nonprofit 1,000 Days. About 1 in 5 kids in the U.S. are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. David Henry Montgomery/HuffPost Some 1 in 4 toddlers don’t receive enough iron in their diet ― which is associated with behavioral and cognitive delays as well as anemia. And then there’s the breastfeeding gap. Only 22 percent of U.S. infants are exclusively breastfed for the first six months, the standard that the World Health Organization recommends to ensure they get breastmilk’s special nutrition and built-in antibodies. The AAP and other medical bodies all point to breastfeeding as key to healthy, growing babies. Yet a lack of family leave, ingrained cultural preferences and insufficient support still put this goal out of reach for many American women. Instead, at least 40 percent of parents introduce solid foods and sugary drinks to their children much too early. The Capital Of Food Insecurity Nutrition in any child’s life depends on several factors: household income, cost of food, parental guidance and convenience. Los Angeles County, which has the largest population of food-insecure residents in the country, is the place to see how those things go wrong. Los Angeles County is home to 1.2 million people who struggle to put sufficient food on the table without assistance. It also has the largest number of food-insecure children, with over 480,000 lacking proper access to food. Experts attribute food insecurity in Los Angeles County to the high housing and living costs seen across the state. California has the highest poverty rate among states, surpassed only by the District of Columbia, when ranked by the Supplemental Poverty Measure produced by the U.S. Census Bureau. “It’s so expensive to live here that federal poverty lines generally don’t reflect real poverty in this state,” said Elyse Homel, a senior food advocate for California Food Policy Advocates, told HuffPost. Across the country, 1 in 6 households with children faced food insecurity in 2016. To combat that, some 7.7 million people received benefits each month through the Women, Infants, and Children program, or WIC, in fiscal year 2016. To qualify, families must be considered at nutritional risk. The program currently serves 53 percent of the country’s infants. In Los Angeles, about 61 percent of pregnant mothers participated in WIC, which amounts to 74,800 moms, according to a California Department of Public Health report on data through 2014. David Henry Montgomery/HuffPost But it’s not enough. While WIC can make a dent in the problem, vouchers for around $50 a month can’t actually end food insecurity ― or completely prevent nutritional failures. “We take nutrition for granted in the U.S. because we think there is this abundance of food and children are of course going to get fed,” said Sullivan, the executive director of 1,000 Days. Meanwhile, she argues, the U.S. is leaving behind poor, marginalized children. “When that inequality is baked in early in life,” Sullivan said, “that has repercussions for that society later on in life, and it perpetuates the cycle of inequality.” Sara Terry/VII For HuffPost Ashanti Durham takes a look at the clothes and toys available at her Great Beginnings for Black Babies class. Options Are Limited Ashanti Durham was attending an infant health class for the first time last month, sitting across the room from Mylexus Patrick. The slight 23-year-old was wearing a tie-dye hoodie over her burgeoning 8-months’ pregnant belly, which she kept caressing during the session. For Durham, better nutrition meant a chance to make sure that her baby girl doesn’t suffer the same fate as her grandparents, who have a history of diabetes and high blood pressure. She sought out this class, much as Patrick had, to give herself the tools to protect her child. “Living in an impoverished area and being raised in an impoverished area, we’re kind of tending to like the more fast foods, instead of grocery stores and creating our own meals, so I wanted to change that and see how that affected the growth of my child,” Durham told HuffPost. “I don’t want to become a statistic.” In Los Angeles County, a metropolis littered with so-called “food deserts” filled mainly with junk food outlets, resisting the lower cost and greater convenience of fast food can be tough. Food deserts like this are part of the reason why the french fry is the most-consumed vegetable among 1-year-olds in the U.S. “In certain parts of South LA, you have a ways to go before you get to the grocery store, but I guarantee that you have a liquor store where you can get chips and white bread or a Jack in the Box on the corner,” Granberry said. Mapping Poverty and Food Deserts in Los Angeles County This map shows Los Angeles County broken down by U.S. Census tracts, which in urban areas are typically the size of a neighborhood. A tract is colored blue if it is a “food desert,” which means a place more than half a mile from the nearest supermarket (or 10 miles in a rural area). It’s also shaded gray to indicate the percentage of people there living below the federal poverty line, which represents an annual income of $12,060 for an individual or $24,600 for a family of four. Even with clearer guidelines ― from community health programs or the government― parents can struggle to feed their children the best food. That’s why we also need a new ethos around healthy eating, one that helps real people make better decisions, Sullivan said. “We can’t hold up as the perfect standard that every mom is going to grow her own organic vegetables ... that’s not the reality,” she said, noting how complex family caretaking and work situations can be. “So how do we make sure moms have the right strategies when they’re pressed for time and don’t have a lot of money to maybe buy the freshest fruits and vegetables?” It’s a challenge that Celine Malanum, a middle-class mother from Long Beach, California, who has two girls and is pregnant with her third child, thinks about all the time. “There’s tons of fast food around ― you can get two large pizzas for $8 and that will feed everybody and give my husband lunch for two days,” the certified lactation education counselor said. “And I resort to that.” Those impossible standards detailed by Sullivan can be overwhelming for parents, Malanum added. “Parents are built to fail ― it kinda sucks and it’s not fair,” she said. “There’s the shame of it, too, if you can’t do those things for your kid.” Sara Terry/VII For HuffPost Some 10 to 20 moms come twice a month to the infant health class called Sister to Sister, where topics include everything from nutrition to child support and life insurance. Tackling The Knowledge Gap Sullivan attributes the widespread ignorance about the importance of the first 1,000 days in part to a lack of standardized nutritional advice for children under 2. Her nonprofit will soon be launching a new initiative, working with high-level government experts and health professionals, to pull together practical resources for parents on the what, when and how to feed in the earliest years of a child’s life. They aim to provide “a little bit of a guidebook, a little bit of the road map on what’s the best to feed your babies,” Sullivan said. In the meantime, the AAP is urging pediatricians and child health care providers to place a renewed emphasis on breastfeeding, nutritional programs and interventions, and guidance that increases parents’ “awareness of which foods are ‘healthy,’ not just as alternatives to unhealthy or junk food but as positive factors targeting optimal development.” Sara Terry/VII For HuffPost The women are shocked to find out just how much sugar is in their drinks. For Mylexus Patrick, it all comes down to making those changes early. Reaching over her pregnant stomach to wrangle her son’s pants, she says she wishes more people would think about their child’s nutrition instead of taking it for granted. “They have to take care of these bodies until they get older, and while they’re young, their parents are in control of that,” she said. “If you’re just letting them run around eating a bunch of crap, they’re probably going to have crappy bodies by the time they’re teenagers and try to fix it, like we all did, later on in life.” Which, as the science shows, may be too late. Missing out in those first years can mean a “life sentence of underachievement,” Thurow said. “That makes the climb out of poverty so much harder.” Sara Terry/VII For HuffPost Mylexus Patrick expresses surprise at how much sugar comes not only in sweet tea, but in her son's supposedly healthy juice box.

When the Pew Research Center released the recent finding that a majority of Republican voters believe higher education has a negative effect on the country, academics tended to react with breast-beating. But in one case, the response was chest-thumping instead. An editorial by Peter Wood published in The Chronicle of Higher Education brandished the title, “Colleges Are to Blame for the Contempt in Which They’re Held.” Dr. Wood is president of The National Association of Scholars (NAS), an organization that describes itself as “founded to confront the rise of campus political correctness.” The Association’s website lists no fewer than 60 “issues” of concern on college campuses, including “anti-capitalist, anti-democratic, and anti-freedom orientation,” “neglect of important books,” and “dorm-based indoctrination.” I’m not sure what that last one is, but based on my own experience as a college president, I would guess it’s more likely about chugging beer from little red cups than force-feeding Chairman Mao’s little red book. Reading Dr. Wood’s editorial leads me to wonder what his experience of today’s college campus is. Having served in his administrative role at NAS since 2009, perhaps he hasn’t spent much time on a campus lately. That might account for the wildly inaccurate picture he paints. “American higher education, taken all in all,” Wood claims, “has put itself in opposition to America’s best principles, its most admirable aspirations…and its capacity to create a generation of worthy civic and political leaders.” This sweeping, intemperate condemnation is the stuff of satire, but we’re invited to accept it as fact. Don’t make that mistake. What’s most disturbing is Wood’s misrepresentation of today’s students. He rails against “the self-indulgent crudity and swinishness of students who impose their own views on their communities,” “campus activists [who] are nihilistic, bitter, mean-spirited, and, of course, self-righteous,” and “students…who have developed contempt for their country and their countrymen.” I have served on college campuses for more than 40 years, including twice in the presidency. The students I know bear no resemblance to Wood’s dyspeptic caricature. Far from being contemptuous of their country and their fellow citizens or “bitter, mean-spirited and…self-righteous,” this generation of students is notable for their idealism, engagement with their communities (both on and off campus), and their desire to make a positive difference for the future. A widespread interest in entrepreneurism, present on many campuses today, is less often directed toward achieving the zillionaire status of a Gates or Bezos and more often focused on improving our world through social entrepreneurship. Isaac Holeman is a great example. A 2009 graduate of Lewis and Clark College in Oregon, he co-founded the company Medic Mobile while still in college. Using cell phones, Medic Mobile’s software enables health workers to reach and serve people who previously had no access to care. Beginning in Africa, Medic Mobile now supports healthcare in 23 countries, with 12,000 health workers serving over eight million patients. Isaac is an extraordinary young man. But he is not alone. On our college and university campuses today, students are creating new materials capable of absorbing oil spills, designing adaptive technologies to assist those with disabilities, and helping local teachers to ignite young students’ interest in math and science. Perhaps most distinctive about this generation of college students is their desire to serve. For example, an increasingly popular type of course is “community-based learning.” Classes are designed to link the classroom curriculum with a practical need in the local community, enabling students to put their learning into action. A writing class, for example, might draft grant proposals on behalf of a local non-profit organization. A biology class might collect data on regionally important environmental issues. St. Lawrence University, a liberal arts college in the North Country region of New York, offered 17 such courses last year, enrolling 275 students, engaging 30 community partners, and logging more than 7,000 hours of activity in the community. This is not atypical. Examples of this orientation toward service abound; I’ll focus on just two: one from my own experience on a single campus and another a project that includes many colleges. The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio—where I served as interim president—has developed a very successful partnership with the local hospital. The Community Care Network, which began in 2013, was designed to promote wellness, reduce the need for potentially unnecessary procedures and hospitalizations, and promote delivery of evidenced based care, while also giving Wooster students valuable field experience. The students, after a rigorous training program, work with carefully chosen patients who need companionship and encouragement in maintaining a healthier lifestyle. After the first year, patients enrolled in the program had a 26% reduction of emergency room use and 51% reduction in hospital readmissions. On a broader scale, AARP has partnered with the Council of Independent Colleges (a membership organization of more than 650 small to mid-sized independent colleges and universities) to offer grants for a program called, “Intergenerational Connections: Students Serving Older Adults.” For this somewhat unusual concept, the funders were unsure what the level of interest would be. In fact, 92 colleges submitted proposals. Buoyed by this interest, AARP increased its funding, so that 21 projects were able to go forward. Students will engage with older adults in a variety of ways, from working in a community garden (to provide nutritious food) to teaching basic computer and internet literacy skills (to combat social isolation and assist in income-generation), to serving as health coaches. All of the projects exemplify the interest among this generation of students in service to others.

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It’s time to end this fallacy that if you aren’t wearing hoods or Swastikas and using the “n-word,” it means you are absolved from the many layers of prejudice. Unfortunately, it’s much deeper and much more complex; and all of us have a role. Enough with sitting on the sidelines and staying silent for fear of making things uncomfortable. We saw the extreme end of the racism spectrum in Charlottesville. Thankfully, this kind of overt, textbook racism is the exception and not the rule. But, even though these acts of bigoted violence rear their ugly heads infrequently, we oftentimes act as though everything is black and white and we ignore the gray area. “Hey! We elected our first black president. We don’t see color. It’s all good now, fam!” Far too often, this ideology leads to silence and apathy. These are the paths of least resistance. The issues of race don’t impact you directly so why bring that drama into your world? It sounds nice, but this line of thinking is exceedingly flawed. Let me be crystal clear right now: Inaction and silence are both layers to this cycle of oppression. My social media timelines have been flooded with so many ill-informed rants on everything from Colin Kaepernick to Black Lives Matter. We lash out at things we don’t fully understand or have never experienced. It’s the easy way out. But, the social media silence from my own friends, acquaintances, and loved ones on the attacks in Charlottesville says more to me than any hot take about National Anthem protests. It takes strength and courage to educate oneself on things outside of their comfort zone. For many in the white community, the subject of race relations is best handled by the talking heads on cable news. It becomes easier to ignore the cause. I grew up in a vastly predominately white Southern town. For many, I represent the only person of color they knew growing up. Yet most didn’t know I dealt with everyday aggressions: receiving threats and suffering from racially-charged bullying being spit on by fellow white students and classmates because of my skin color having my background questioned by white friends for not being “black enough,” or (my favorite) “you’re only HALF black.” As if that level of blackness doesn’t count. Not one person I know from my hometown ever bothered to ask me if I’d dealt with these kinds of stereotypes. Not. One. I’m far from trying to be the torchbearer for suffering. My fellow minorities from all walks of life—LGBTQ, Muslim, women, etc.—have many additional experiences to share. We are all angered. We are in pain. We are saddened and hopeless that this shit will never change, or that this cycle of oppression will continue, or perhaps even worsen somehow. And we feel alone in this battle. Enough is enough. To my white friends, family members and colleagues: I’m asking you to take a minute to ask some questions and conduct some introspection. Avoid missing out on another opportunity to learn and expand your mind. It’s up to you to be just as outraged as we are today … and tomorrow ... and the next day. The Black community, the LGBTQ community, women, Muslims, minorities of all walks of life are inherently included in this struggle for justice. But, we can’t win this fight unless we get reinforcements from those at the top. If you are just as outraged as we are, then show it with the same level of passion that we bring to the ongoing battle for equality and respect. Understand that this is not simply black and white. There is a vast gray area in this fight, with apathy being the chief injustice in that middle ground. Going forward, your apathy can only be considered as complicity in the hatred that continues to plague our discourse. Make the change now to speak out. Challenge that racist uncle at Thanksgiving. Call out the uncomfortable crap by pops. Stand up to your friends and coworkers. Demand more from your kids and get familiar with their acquaintances. Stop being silent. Stop being comfortable even though much of this doesn’t affect you directly. Start speaking up. And please, start asking some damn questions. Even if it means not liking some of the answers. And even if it means asking more questions tomorrow and the next day. We can’t begin to solve these issues without the silent majority finally speaking up. Previously published on GoodMenProject.com.

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Maybe Donald Trump should cut Mitch McConnell a little slack. The president has been having a tantrum over health care ― calling the Senate’s failure to pass a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act last month a “disgrace,” and suggesting that McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky, should lose his job as majority leader if that’s where the repeal effort ends. “I’ve been hearing repeal and replace now for seven years,” Trump said Thursday, speaking from his summer vacation in Bedminster, New Jersey. “Then I get there and I said, ‘where’s the bill, I want to sign it first day,’ and they don’t have it.” Trump’s comments didn’t come out of nowhere. Days before, McConnell, during an appearance of his own, had suggested Trump still didn’t understand how long the legislative process could take ― prompting a series of tweets, subsequently amplified by Trump allies in the media, taunting McConnell and asking why he hasn’t produced a bill yet. Senator Mitch McConnell said I had "excessive expectations," but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017 It’s a fair question. Ever since the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010, Republicans have been saying they would repeal “Obamacare.” All they needed, they insisted, was a president willing to sign their legislation. Now here they are, six months into the Trump presidency, and they’ve given him no legislation to sign. But Republicans also made another set of promises ― to provide everybody with better, cheaper health care. And they don’t have a way to do that either. What they have, instead, is a set of plans that would take health insurance away from millions of people, while forcing those with serious or ongoing medical problems to pay a lot more for their care. This mismatch between Republican promises and Republicans plans goes a long way towards explaining why the attempt to pass legislation has come up short. And while McConnell did his part to create a false impression of what the GOP intended to do, Trump did too. NICHOLAS KAMM via Getty Images Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (center) made audacious, frequently dishonest promises about what repeal would do. But he had plenty of company. Remember, it was Trump who made some of the most audacious promises about repeal, endorsing universal coverage clearly and explicitly. In September, 2015, during an interview with Scott Pelley on CBS “60 Minutes,” Trump went out of his way to suggest his determination to cover everybody differentiated him from traditional Republicans, who at least in modern political times had disavowed the goal: Scott Pelley: What’s your plan for Obamacare? Donald Trump: Obamacare’s going to be repealed and replaced. Obamacare is a disaster if you look at what’s going on with premiums where they’re up 45, 50, 55 percent. Scott Pelley: How do you fix it? Donald Trump: There’s many different ways, by the way. Everybody’s got to be covered. This is an un-Republican thing for me to say because a lot of times they say, “No, no, the lower 25 percent that can’t afford private.” But― Scott Pelley: Universal health care? Donald Trump: I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now. Trump made similar claims throughout the campaign. He promised not to cut Medicaid ― pointing out, again, that this was an unusual position for a Republican ― and he swore that, once Obamacare was gone, people would see both premium and deductibles come down. And after the presidential election, Trump reaffirmed his promise of universal coverage ― first in another “60 Minutes” interview, with Lesley Stahl, and then over the phone to Robert Costa of the Washington Post. “We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump told Costa in January. “There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” Trump went on to say that, by the time Republicans were done, Americans “can expect to have great health care. It will be in a much simplified form. Much less expensive and much better.” It was an absurd promise. The Affordable Care Act has left millions without coverage, and left millions more with insurance that carries high premiums, high deductibles, or both. But Republican plans were always bound to make these problems worse, because they called for rolling back expansions of Medicaid, reducing financial assistance for people buying coverage on their own, and scaling back regulations guaranteeing comprehensive coverage to everybody regardless of pre-existing conditions. Confirmation of this came as early as March, when House Republicans introduced their version of repeal legislation, the American Health Care Act. It proposed to drain roughly $1 trillion from federal health programs, according to a subsequent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, leaving 24 million more people without coverage. Perhaps because of assessments like that, Trump eventually backed off the claim of “insurance for everybody.” But he never stopped making ambitious promises about repeal legislation, vowing over and over again that it would mean lower premiums and deductibles while protecting people with pre-existing conditions ― vows that, independent analyses showed repeatedly were simply not true. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) came under lots of pressure to vote yes. But they refused to support legislation that, contrary to GOP promises, would take coverage from millions. It is possible that Trump understands he is lying when he says these things, and simply doesn’t care. It is also possible that Trump has no idea what’s actually in the recent Republican legislation and actually believes it would improve access and affordability. Nothing he has said or done, as a candidate or president, suggests he understands health care policy at even the most basic level.

On Friday, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” called out what it described as the “repetitive nightmare” of Donald Trump’s presidency with its updated version of the Bill Murray classic movie.

by Mike Phillips Wikimedia Commons South African President Jacob Zuma South African President Jacob Zuma narrowly survived a no-confidence vote held this week by the country’s parliament. The head of state, who leads Nelson Mandela’s ANC political party, remains in place, but South Africa also remains in a state of political and economic turmoil. The president is beset by scandal and the country is in recession. This ongoing uncertainty has led the South Africa's real estate companies to make an unprecedented push into a niche sector of European real estate. South African investors have ploughed €2.3B into European property so far in 2017, according to data from Real Capital Analytics, and €2B of that has been in Eastern European assets, the vast majority in retail. To put the scale of the investment outflows in context, South African investment in European real estate rose from €122M in 2010 to €2.9B last year, a 23-fold increase and a figure likely to be surpassed in 2017. The 2016 figure accounted for almost 25% of all real estate investment in Central and Eastern Europe, according to JLL research, from a single, relatively small country. Wikipedia Protests against South African President Jacob Zuma. The investment has not been confined to the larger countries and cities in Eastern Europe. This year, South Africans invested €363M in Bulgaria, including €156M on a single mall. Last year, South African investors put €300M into Croatia, which is more than the total annual volume for the country in some years. It is an almost unprecedented act of herd behaviour by outbound investors from a particular country. Why Central and Eastern European retail? In a word: yield. Assets in this sector yield 6-9%, higher than the rest of Europe, and can be bought with debt borrowed at a margin of 3%, according to DLA Piper Partner Denise Hamer. This is in comparison to South Africa, where the cost of debt can be as high as 9% and yields are 7%. "From South Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe may be viewed as a political and legal, as well as economic, investment safe haven," she added. And given the continuing economic and political uncertainty, the outbound flows are likely to continue. “As we have seen in other countries, concern that domestic economic conditions will lead to weaker real estate markets, coupled with a need for diversification, will likely lead to more South African investors stepping into the global investment market in the coming years” RCA Executive Managing Director for EMEA and APAC Simon Mallison said. The domestic South African market is not actually doing that badly, RCA reports, with 2017 likely to top 2016’s record investment volume. But 40% of all capital put into real estate by South African firms is being spent abroad, as investors look to get money out of the country.

Serena Williams doesn’t need a reason to post a swimsuit pic. She can do it whenever she damn well pleases. The greatest tennis player of all time uploaded a photo of herself in a yellow bikini on Instagram recently, revealing her awesome abs. The picture is from her shoot with Sports Illustrated in February. “Just because,” the 35-year-old captioned her photo. Just because A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Apr 14, 2017 at 6:12am PDT The tennis star rocked a variety of looks for her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue spread. In her interview with the magazine, she spoke about everything from designing her own line of bathing suits to the media’s ever-evolving perception of beauty. “I think the media as a whole is finally starting to embrace and celebrate all different body types, and women are more confident about being themselves because of it,” Williams told SI. "She exudes confidence, she is woman" #siswimsuit make today a confident one. A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Feb 23, 2017 at 6:18am PST Hope your day is going good 😘#SISwim @si_swimsuit A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Feb 16, 2017 at 2:53pm PST #SISwim @si_swimsuit #body A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Feb 15, 2017 at 9:46am PST #SISwim on sale now @si_swimsuit A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Feb 15, 2017 at 6:30am PST Confidence looks good on her.

For Glamour, by Elizabeth Logan. Emily Kemp I firmly believe it’s weird to pay to hold hands with a stranger for the better part of an hour, which is to say, I don’t like getting manicures. But I do like having my nails painted, so in eighth grade, I set upon the tedious task of teaching myself to do it. At that point, I’d owned two bottles of polish: black and iridescent blue. (So punk.) My mother hated to see me wear the black, and I admit it didn’t look right with my Sailor Moon–style school uniform, so I alternated between blue and black with blue over it. One day during the fall of freshman year, as I reached to get something from my backpack, I guess my iridescent blue fingernails (still working with two colors at this point) caught the light, because the coolest/most terrifying girl in school we’ll call Karen (name changed, you think I’m gonna commit social suicide?), a sophomore with great style, grabbed my hand and demanded, “Where did you get this color?” “Walgreens.” I mumbled, starstruck. Karen said I was wearing the “exact” shade Hallie Parker (Lindsay Lohan) wears in The Parent Trap’s infamous poker scene, and she’d been searching for it “forever.” (Bear in mind we were having this conversation circa 2007 and The Parent Trap came out in 1998, but a girl doesn’t forget an iconic nail color.) Karen pulled me over to one of her friends and showed her my self-administered manicure: “Lizzie found the color.” I shrugged like it was NBD and offered to bring the bottle in some time so they could borrow it, but I never did. I wasn’t ever letting those 0.5 ounces of liquid cool out of my sight. It wasn’t until college, however, that I embraced the truly healing powers of nail polish. By this time, I’d realized that in addition to painting your nails, there are a number of other semipermanent modifications you can make to your appearance that sort of do the same job as makeup without making you deal with makeup. You can get your nose pierced, cut bangs, dye your hair red, bleach a chunk of your hair, dye the chunk purple using Manic Panic that will, sure as the sun rises, fade to blue and then to green every three weeks. I did all these things! But the main thing I did was invest in a number of pastel Essie shades, my favorite being a light lavender color that just made me happy when I looked at it. This was important since, well, let’s just say college wasn’t the greatest time of my life, despite what Van Wilder promised. Some things I could not bring myself to do on a regular basis during my first two years of college: my reading, my assignments, attend class, exercise. Some things I did as often as possible during my first two years of college: my laundry, shower, watch Veronica Mars, my nails. Any small, easily accomplishable task with immediate results was worth my time. Things like education were not. So every other night I’d queue up an episode of some sitcom and carefully paint my nails, making it last as long as possible, which meant three thick layers on every finger. I didn’t get into nail art, because I didn’t want to be frustrated or have to concentrate. I just wanted to Zen out. The next day, every time I looked at my usually lavender fingertips, I’d feel momentarily calm and happy, and, well, it looked nice, and I’m not above wanting to look nice. It seemed mature and responsible. Some of my classmates were biting their fingers down to the cuticle in pre-exam stress; mine were long and shapely. (It did help that I had very little pre-exam stress because I was skipping most of my exams.) When even the tiniest crack would appear in my mani, I’d pick and peel and chip away at the polish to give myself an excuse to ritualistically paint them again, because if I could start over, if I could do it again, maybe it would turn out different. I left a trail of Essie chips across campus, and to the maintenance staff who had to vacuum it out of the industrial carpet, I am truly sorry. Turns out, I’m not alone in using polish as a coping skill of sorts, and there’s a sound psychological basis for doing your nails. “I often recommend that clients include painting their nails as one of many helpful coping skills,” said Greta Angert, a Los Angeles–based licensed psychotherapist specializing in anxiety. “Sitting down to paint your nails is a simple gesture that tells you ‘I’m worth it,’ ‘I deserve this.’” Angert added: “People also talk with their hands, and seeing a pretty color can brighten their mood. Women also compliment each other’s manicures quite frequently, and there’s nothing wrong with a little ego boost during your day.” According to Angert, people who struggle with minor anxiety often find solace in the repetitive motion of nail painting, and — because it requires concentration — those of us who have racing negative thoughts can get a reprieve. Thinking about the therapeutic uses of nail polish made me remember something I’d heard years ago, a rumor that’s, fair warning, a little dark: Just like painting your nails can remind you to stop biting them, it can also remind recovering bulimics not to use their fingers to purge. I asked my close friend Clarissa (name changed, you think I’m gonna be that irresponsible?), who has been in recovery from bulimia for a few years, if she’s ever heard this. Here’s what she told me: “In early recovery the urges to use behaviors [binge and purge] are strong and irrational. They can feel blinding and totally out of your control, and it feels like there’s nothing you can do except use the behavior. Delay tactics, like nail painting, teeth brushing, etc., are helpful ways of getting through these urges until they pass. Like, painting one’s nails is not going to override to binge or purge, but it forces you to pay attention to something else for a while.” She stressed that it’s not a long-term strategy, but that she’s used it a couple of times and found it calming. These days my nails are shorter and often nude; I’m trying (and failing) to learn the acoustic guitar. When I do paint them, I favor neutral tones. But last week I decided to resurrect the iridescent blue after years of dormancy. A coworker saw my hand and said, “Oh, I love your nail polish! Is that because of, like, the mermaid-unicorn trend?” I got defensive and said: “No, it’s not because of the ‘mermaid’ or ‘unicorn’ trend. I’ve been wearing this shade for years. This this is the shade Hallie Parker wears in the poker scene in The Parent Trap, and it’s kind of my signature color.” P.S. Okay, so I don’t know FOR SURE that the color I have is the same one Lindsay wore in The Parent Trap, since I haven’t talked to The Parent Trap’s makeup people, but if you are looking to approximate the look, here are my suggestions: Courtesy of Brand Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in "Black and Blue" (that's what I'm wearing in the picture. Be warned you have to put on four coats to get it to really pop but it stays on well.) or Sally Hansen HD in "Pixel Pretty".

Justin Trudeau’s support for more oil pipelines and tar sands drilling is at loggerheads with his image as Canada’s progressive heartthrob prime minister, according to a top environmentalist. In an op-ed published Monday in The Guardian, 350.org founder Bill McKibben called Trudeau a “stunning hypocrite” on global warming. “[W]hen it comes to the defining issue of our day, climate change, he’s a brother to the old orange guy in DC,” McKibben wrote, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump. He said Trudeau was “hard at work pushing for new pipelines through Canada and the US to carry yet more oil out of Alberta’s tarsands, which is one of the greatest climate disasters on the planet.” Tar sands ― a noxious mix of sand, clay and bitumen, a viscous oil ― are considered one of the dirtiest fossil fuels. The controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which Trump jump-started days after taking office in January, would funnel a daily load of 830,000 barrels of tar sands oil to refineries in Texas, producing emissions equal to putting 5.6 million new cars on the road, according to estimates by the environmental nonprofit Friends of the Earth. Trump is a creep and a danger and unpleasant to look at, but at least he’s not a stunning hypocrite. Bill McKibben, 350.org founder A spokesperson for Trudeau did not reply to a request for comment. In 2015, former President Barack Obama rejected pipeline-builder TransCanada’s application to construct the Keystone XL after a seven-year deliberation. Trudeau cheered Trump’s decision to reconsider the pipeline. “I reiterated my support for the project. I’ve been on the record for many years supporting [Keystone XL] because it leads to economic growth and good jobs for Albertans,” Trudeau told reporters on Jan. 24, when Trump signed an executive action inviting TransCanada to reapply. “We know we can get our resources to market more safely and responsibly while meeting our climate change goals.” To be sure, the Trudeau administration has made significant moves to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels. In November, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced plans to phase out most coal-fired power plants by 2030. Some coal power stations would remain, equipped with carbon-capture technology that has yet to be proved reliable. Nevertheless, the Canadian government forecasts carbon emissions falling by 5 megatons ― equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the road ― if the plan is fully implemented. In December, Trudeau announced a nationwide minimum price on carbon of about 10 Canadian dollars, or about $7.53 per metric ton. By next year, the administration plans to roll out either a tax on fossil fuels or a cap-and-trade system to exact the levy. Still, McKibben urged Trudeau’s gushing fans to “stop swooning” over the prime minister, whom he called a “disaster for the planet.”

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Organist Dr. Damin Spritzer will be performing four recitals during the renowned Terra Sancta Organ Festival next week in Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. These appearances follow the release of her critically acclaimed third CD Organ Music of Rene’ Louis Becker, Volume 3 and her successful summer tour in Germany, Italy, France, and several U.S. cities. Dr. Spritzer is the only American artist performing at this years festival that celebrates music from the churches of the middle east. Her recital on October 11, 2017 will be available via live stream on the Terra Sancta Organ Festival YouTube Channel and on the Terra Sancta Organ Festival website (links below). October 10, 2017: TEL AVIV – JAFFA – St. Peter’s Church – 6:00 PM October 11, 2017: NAZARETH – Basilica of the Annunciation – 6:00 PM (8:00 AM PST US Live Streaming on YouTube) October 12, 2017: JERUSALEM – Church of St. Saviour – 6:00 PM October 13, 2017: BETHLEHEM –Church of St. Catherine at Nativity – 6:00 P< The live stream on October 11, 2017 is the opportunity to watch one of the greatest organists in the world perform for free and should not be missed. When Damin sits down at the Organ and begins playing it is as if she is literally connecting and communicating with the angels. Terra Sancta Organ Festival Schedule Dr. Damin Spritzer T.S.O.F. Live Stream Raven CD

The thousands of clergy members who comprise The Clergy Letter Project condemn in clear and unequivocal terms all forms of white supremacy and the violence that is associated with such racist views. While members of The Clergy Letter Project believe in protecting freedom of speech, even odious speech, they are well aware that speech promoting violence is not protected under the United State Constitution. This means that some of the detestable language used by white supremacists may fall within the realm of protected speech – but the fact that it is protected does not make it acceptable. As long as white supremacists, neo-Nazis, members of the alt-right, and members of any other group use vile and incendiary language, language that may be protected, it falls on the rest of us to talk back, to make it clear that such language is utterly unacceptable in civil society, and to point out the underlying fallacy of their hateful speech. This is exactly what the more than 14,700 clergy who are members of The Clergy Letter Project are doing. The Clergy Letter Project was created to promote the teaching of evolution and to demonstrate that religion and science can be compatible. Evolutionary theory, as well as the tenets of virtually all religions, teaches us about the similarity of all humans. Even though it might seem counter-intuitive, from a genetic perspective, biologists know that there are more similarities across races than there are within races. Adam Rutherford, in his superb book entitled A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived made this point well and often. He notes that: Genetically, two black people are more likely to be more different to each other than a black person and a white person. In other words, while the physical differences are clearly visible between a white and a black person, the total amount of difference is much smaller than between two black people. In other words, he points out that there are often obvious morphological differences across what we consider to be different races but he demonstrates that “they’re not representative of the genome as a whole.” He adds that he is “unaware of any group of people on Earth that can be defined by their DNA in a scientifically satisfactory way” and that “for the average geneticist, race simply does not exist.” From a religious perspective, we celebrate our shared humanity and are aghast when people promote any sort of racial hierarchy. Similarly, from a religious perspective, we know that all people, regardless of any demographic attribute, should be treated fairly. Therefore, simply put, the vile rhetoric being spewed by white supremacists is religiously and biologically bankrupt. The frequency of such loathsome language as well as the violence often associated with that language has been increasing of late and we find this pattern to be terribly troubling. We urge others, particularly politicians, to join us in making it clear that this is absolutely unacceptable. By pushing back forcefully, articulately and peacefully, we believe it is possible to combat the evil being promoted by those working to divide us.

According to Al Siebert, the widespread belief that jobs generate harmful stress is an “artificial consensus” reality, fed by the tidal wave of books, articles, movies, shows, anecdotes and workshops that amplify work-related pressures. The intention is good, but as the adage goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,”—and for those of you who feel afflicted by stress, I’m sure you will agree that ‘hell’ is a fine synonym. The myth is about the origin of stress, and the place it is felt. In Al Siebert’s view, strain is the bodily experience of stress, which often manifests in a physical experience of unwanted anxiety or tension. The problem is that people tend to conflate stress and strain: stress is external; strain is internal. The impact of this conflation is not merely a matter of semantics. It influences how we treat it, how we treat ourselves, and what we change in our lives to cope with it. In this article I explore some strategies to cope with stress and reduce strain, in addition to highlighting the importance of focus for managing the two and learning new things about ourselves in the process. A Simple Plan for a Complex Problem Sometimes we are caught in the midst of strong emotions and we get tunnel vision. We are unable to stop, ask ourselves questions, and reassess our position. Being prepared with strategic questions beforehand can make that process easier when emotions flare. Make a list of six or seven things that you feel irritated, upset, or distressed about. For each one, ask yourself the following questions: What pressures am I feeling? How are my work and my life different than they were a year ago? What is difficult for me now, and what difficulties am I expecting? What feels distressing to me? The key is to take your time with each question and to be thorough. Descriptive phrases work best: show then tell. Once you’ve done that, write about your general feeling regarding what you wrote down. It is important to remember that you can’t make feelings go away by sheer will power, but you can move through them, recast them, reinterpret them, and modify your reactions to them. The feelings are not the enemies so don’t chastise yourself for having them. Create Balance with Positivity Going through the process of charting the negative factors in our lives can be draining and often cloud of purview. That’s why it’s equally as important to do the same as above for all the positives in your life. Think back and make a list of the positive activities that invigorate and revitalize you. Then, ask yourself the following questions: What do I have fun doing? What do I get enthusiastic about? What would I like to do that I keep putting off? Who do I enjoy sharing good experiences with? When do I sleep best at night? What positive aspects of my life am I ignoring? Armed with these two lists, you are in a crucial position to make decisions about how to remove stress, reduce strain, increase the energy-increasing activities in your life, and find more moments of pleasure throughout the day. Hatch a Plan Research from University of Chicago professor Salvatore Maddi, conducted in the 1970s, suggests that there are three qualities that increased resilience and job satisfaction among managers at AT&T. The first was emotional commitment. They felt responsible to the people they led and wanted to help them succeed. The second was the belief that they could influence outcomes. They would determine specific goals, devise plan, make lists, and decide what steps should be taken to attain said goals. The third was a desire to problem solve. They were energized by challenges and enjoyed seeking alternatives to resolve issues that arose. You can apply this three-step approach to any of the negative instances you detailed in the first list. The positive list can supplement this process. You can intersperse activities that grant you pleasure, relief, or vitality. Some Pro-tips for Personal Care To some, especially males, this all may sound silly or effeminate. Talking about feelings? Listing the reasons I am strained or what stresses me? Maybe you believe the best method is to pile-drive through the hard times. That approach is bound to fail, and the reason is that it forces you to suppress your daily experience under a mountain of will that is actually rubble, which can easily be shaken to dust. In other words, you’ll lose control and when that happens, you’ll wish you had dealt with your stress and strain earlier. Here are my pro-tips for personal care: Awareness . The process of creating these lists and hatching a plan will generate awareness. You may learn new things about yourself; about why you think the way you do; and about how it affects the people around you. . The process of creating these lists and hatching a plan will generate awareness. You may learn new things about yourself; about why you think the way you do; and about how it affects the people around you. Mind - Body Connection . The distinction between mind and body is completely arbitrary. It’s mainly a matter of perception. Indeed our minds and our bodies are inextricably linked, and in constant communication. Learning to interpret your bodily responses as communications from the mind and mental states as informed by your body allows you to view yourself more holistically. - . The distinction between mind and body is completely arbitrary. It’s mainly a matter of perception. Indeed our minds and our bodies are inextricably linked, and in constant communication. Learning to interpret your bodily responses as communications from the mind and mental states as informed by your body allows you to view yourself more holistically. Social Support. Relying on others can be difficult, embarrassing, and awkward, but that’s normal, especially when you are unaccustomed to open communication. Finding confidants and people whose advice and input you respect can help you gain new insights and feel supported, which can mollify strain and stress. Please take these suggestions seriously. People who ignore their emotions, refuse to communicate, and opt for the bulldozer approach tend to be more fragile than those who listen to themselves, ask for support, and accept their weaknesses. And the fact is that pressure from work, family, responsibilities, is not easy to manage. It may appear that some people are immune to strain from external pressures, but that’s a misperception. The difference is that some people have better strategies to cope. Now you have one too! The Secret Ingredient All of this is nearly impossible to accomplish without focus. From the get-go, you must make a clear decision to center your mind on the task of finding alternatives, devising a plan, and staying the course. It’s important to note that focus is not the same as concentration. Focus conjures up something deeper than concentration, and that’s strength. According to our dictionary definition, strength is “an extremely valuable or useful ability, asset, or quality.” Strength subsumes our learned skills and innate talents, which means they operate both intuitively and deliberately. However, to activate our strengths, we must focus, such that the strengths get channeled into what we are doing. In the context of managing pressure, strain, and stress, focus is necessary because it summons the best of yourself, and lets you to glean alternatives you wouldn’t have otherwise. When faced with adversity, this kind of focus bring you closer to a resolution. Focus on Finding Yourself Ultimately this post is about finding yourself. I don’t mean that in a transcendental or spiritual way, but rather in a lived and practical sense.

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WASHINGTON ― National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is gone ― that didn’t take long ― but he leaves behind a famous and fateful question: What did the president know and when did he know it? Donald J. Trump has been president for less than a month, and already the Watergate query is all the capital is talking about, and, as a result, there is a widespread sense of a White House in deep, perhaps cataclysmic, trouble. The list of failures and missteps of the Trump administration is as well known as it is long: a litany of patently obvious lies to the public and the press; mismanagement and vicious infighting; several malodorous Cabinet choices; mixed messages from on high, many of them coming within minutes of each other; leaks that gush like a fire hydrant; national security lapses that would be comical if they were not so risky; and a job approval rating lower at this point than that of any new president in memory. But all of that is as nothing compared with the conflagration now. Flynn resigned after it became clear that federal investigators and the national media were closing in on his close relationship ― bought and paid for, it appears ― with Vladimir Putin and his henchmen in Moscow. Then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates informed Trump and his circle weeks ago that the FBI had developed information that Flynn had been compromised by his close, and financial, Russian ties. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters Sally Yates, then acting U.S. attorney general, sounded an alarm weeks ago about Michael Flynn. But now come some obvious, and, for Trump, perilous, questions. What did the president know and when did he know it about Flynn’s friendly and potentially compromising calls in December with the Russian ambassador? In those conversations, Flynn allegedly told the Russian to disregard the Obama administration’s imposition of new sanctions, because Trump would lift them once he assumed office. Is it possible Flynn would have had those conversations with the Russian ambassador and not told Trump about them? Was Trump really flying blind when he praised Putin for not reacting to those sanctions? Who else in the chain of command, as chaotic as it is, knew of Flynn’s conversations and his assurances to Russia? Now that Flynn is out of the White House, he no longer can claim executive privilege if subpoenaed to testify before Congress. Will he take the Fifth? Possibly. Will he talk? Unlikely. Yates communicated her concerns to White House Counsel Don McGahn, a longtime Trump adviser whose main qualification was his loyalty to Trump and knowledge of business and campaign finance. He knows little or nothing about national security. But what chance is there that McGahn would not have told the president about the warning from Yates? With Flynn gone, who will be national security adviser? Will the role still matter? Will the CIA, which reportedly had considered Flynn a security risk (!) be assuaged? No one has been prosecuted under the more-than-200-year-old Logan Act, which forbids the private conduct of diplomacy, but if Flynn didn’t tell the truth to the FBI, he could be at risk of prosecution. Flynn wasn’t the only Russia proponent in the administration. Others include chief strategist Steve Bannon and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. What did they know and when did they know it? And what have been their dealings with Russia? Flynn’s departure will also inevitably draw attention back to the role of Russian hacks and leaks in the 2016 presidential campaign ― and to demands, so far turned away by Trump, that he release his tax returns. The president has said that he has no loans from Russia or Russians. Really? Late Monday, the list of questions continued to grow, and there was a sense in Washington that the real story of the Trump administration was just beginning to be told. Do you have information you want to share with the Huffington Post?

With our world being so divided and polarized for so many reasons now, a show like ‘Summer Break” is exactly the kind of programming we could use. The AT&T digital programming showcases a group of teens who are diverse, open minded, and just may be the kind of kids who are going to change the world in the most positive ways possible. I sat down to talk with one of the stars of “Summer Break”, Isaiah and we talk about everything from the coming out process, finding your tribe, and having cameras follow your every move when you are still learning so much about yourself. What made you, at seventeen years old, what made you want to participate in “Summer Break”? The reason I embarked on this journey was because my coming out process was so incredibly positive and helped me grow so much. I have also seen instances where that is not the case and people talk about the trauma involved with it. I am trying to use my platform to show kids that it does not have to be a traumatic experience and can be so much more beautiful; I am trying to shine a much more positive light on the coming out experience. Where do you think your selfless intentions on making the world a much better place come from? I think the juxtaposition of my life before coming out as opposed to my life after is so great, it’s difficult for me to just brush an experience like that under the rug and ignore it. Before I came out, things were so dark, I could not look people in the eye, things like that. Now after coming out, I am able to look people in the eye, I am much more confident when I walk into a room and I feel like a beaming light. I cannot ignore how that helped me and I want to be able to help other kids. Many people equate coming out of the closet as the moment Dorothy opens the door of her house after it has crashed in Munchkinland in “The Wizard of Oz” and she is flooded with colors. Is it sometimes hard to surround yourself with others who are able to lift you up and not those who are simply looking to do what many other seventeen year olds want to do? I definitely try to surround myself with people who are going to lift me up. With the cast of “Summer Break” that I have been hanging out with this summer, everyone is so great and so supportive, it’s really been amazing. The show does a good job of showcasing each cast member and their experiences. What do you think some of the best things you have seem come out of your experience as a cast member? I think it has really provided me and other cast members with a platform in which we can hopefully inspire other kids. It’s given us opportunities that we really would not have had. Ten years from now, where do you think we will find Isaiah? I would like to be certified thought leader. That is definitely the goal. I am sure everyone on the cast intends to stay in touch, but as we have seen with other reality shows, that is not reasonable all the time. Do you think you will all stay in touch post “Summer Break”? Oh definitely, we are all going to stay in touch. Is it hard having the cameras up and following you around documenting your life or do you get used to it? Not at all. I think this group of kids, myself included, really embrace it. The fact that AT&T is trying to reach a new audience and they are using this project as a way to do it, it’s really beautiful. The show is not heavy handed and does not hit you over the head with a message, it’s very subtle. What do you think the one thing your generation knows that generations before you did not know? That other people come first, yet you do have to look after yourself as well. If you are in a place where you feel safe and supported, it’s your duty to help others, you just have to get to that place. Is it hard being not of voting age, and not be able to make the kind of change with your vote and having your voice heard in that way? Absolutely. It is disappointing that I am not able to use my power to vote yet. I think this is just another experience where we can band together and have a true sense of community. What is going on is very intense and it’ hard for kids like me who cannot address it with their vote. Everything is a learning experience though. Myself and my cast members were born under a very liberal administration, so we are all definitely learning this is new to all of us. It’s a learning lesson that everything is not perfect and in life there are going to be challenges.

Susan Bro’s daughter Heather Heyer, 32, was killed Saturday when a car plowed into a group gathered to protest a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. At least 19 others were injured in the attack. Bro sat down with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday night and shared a message with the driver who rammed the crowd. “I believe that he thought hate was going to be the answer and that hate is going to fix things,” Bro said. “But he was wrong, and he will someday come to see that, I hope, and I’m sorry for the pain he will go through when he sees that. I’m sorry for the pain he’s putting his mother through right now.” Bro added, “I’m also extremely sorry that he chose to kill my child and to injure a bunch of other people. He didn’t have the right to do that ... This wasn’t a video game, buddy. This was real people. There are real consequences to what you did, and I’m sorry you chose to do that. You have ruined your life. You’ve disturbed mine. You took my child from me, and I’m going to be the voice she can no longer be.” Police charged 20-year-old white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio with second-degree murder and three counts of malicious wounding and failing to stop at an accident that resulted in a death. Fields had been previously accused of domestic violence. Over the weekend, Bro told HuffPost that she did not want her daughter’s death to be a focus for more hatred. “I want her death to be a rallying cry for justice and equality and fairness and compassion,” she said.

For Kevin Hart, art is imitating life. The comedian stars in his friend J. Cole’s new video for “Kevin’s Heart,” a song about fighting off the urge to cheat. In the song, the rapper references Hart’s infidelities. The video alludes to what the famous 38-year-old’s everyday life looked like after one of his cheating scandals broke — from people staring at him in the supermarket and fending off women’s advances, to strangers offering him unsolicited advice in public bathrooms. While the content of the five-minute video stems from a pretty serious place, Hart manages to inject a good amount of humor into his performance. At the end of the video, the comedian notices something in the sky, laughs and then continues walking. As he exits the frame, it is revealed that the phrase “Choose Wisely” is written in the sky — a nod to Hart’s past bad decisions.

MILLENNIALS!!!! String Millennial mania with other Digibabble and you get requests like the following: We need to create viral immersive mobile experiences in a digital-first environment in order to reach the powerful, elusive, unreachable Millennials who are just so different from any other generation…anything we have ever seen. In the last week alone here is a sample of just some of the fixation: “10 Things You Need to Know About Marketing to Millennials” — Forbes, 8/2/17“The marketing that millennials want to see from brands” — The Drum, 8/9/17“Billboard Is Targeting Millennials With Music Documentary Series for Snapchat Discover” — Fortune, 8/5/17“Why millennials are the next tourism frontier” — BBC, 8/11/17 This is pure essence “Digitaling,” not Marketing, and frankly if you are in this camp, your future success is bleak. KNEE JERK alert – of course every generation has its quirks and nuances. Of course they create and nurture their own look, style and taste. Of course they adopt and use whatever technological advances, evolutions and applications they can. And of course sooner than they imagine, they find themselves part of another generation sandwiched between a former and a latter. As Henry David Thoreau so rightly said: “Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.” The problem is, we have become truly obsessed and over the wrong issues related to the Millenial generation. You see here is the truth…they are not what analysts make them out to be — not in spending, not in what’s important to them, not in focus. In fact, I believe we have created a myth around them that empowers more wasted spending than it does success. USA TODAY last month spelled it out: Hey advertisers! Take a break from fixating on Millennials and check this out: Baby Boomers and their elders are making up an outsize share of consumer spending….“The 50-plus and 60-plus population is clearly playing a large role in consumer spending and older consumers are going to become more significant as these trends intensify,” says Wayne Best, chief economist of Visa.In the first quarter, Americans 55 and older accounted for 41.6% of consumer spending, up from 41.2% late last year and 33.5% in early 2007, according to government and Moody’s data. Toss in 53- and 54-year-olds, and the Boomer- and-older set comprise about half of all consumption, according to Visa and Moody’s Analytics. In other words, they’re spending somewhat less than they did when they were younger but more than their predecessors….Advertisers, meanwhile, focus their campaigns almost exclusively on Millennials, says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group, a consulting firm on consumer behavior and retail.“The fastest-growing segment is the Boomer consumer,” Cohen says.” And they have a higher level of discretionary spending power. Back in 2015, the warning sirens had already begun to sound but few seemed to listen — as described in a piece by The New York Times : …millennial mania that is overtaking all manner of businesses, and seems to be getting more obsessive by the day…[b]ut some analysts and consumers have begun to ask, what about the rest of us? After all, the millennial generation has less wealth and more debt than other generations did at the same age, thanks to student loans and the lingering effects of the deep recession. Though millennials are hailed as the first generation of “digital natives,” the over-40 (and 50 and 60) sets have become pretty adept when it comes to smartphones and other devices. And in the same year good friends from TAXI Canada fired a brilliant warning shot: Older people have the spending power. So why are ads obsessed with youth?Advertising’s obsession with youth is well-documented, and most recently parodied by advertising agency Taxi Canada. In a video created for an award show recently, the agency mocked the focus on “millennials” (those in their 20s and early 30s) and proposed targeting consumers while they are still in the womb. Watch the parody here. As my favorite rock legend, Jim Morrison, once said: “Each generation wants new symbols, new people, new names. They want to divorce themselves from their predecessors.” A truth as old as humankind. But society advances and evolves because we mash up and cross over and mix and blend and mingle and synthesize the new and old and the older still until the sharing economy of today starts to resemble the sharing economy of the Great Depression; where the short-form serialization of stories mimics early motion pictures and where word of mouth can still be portrayed by an old Norman Rockwell painting. So as much as we talk about cutting the cord, it’s the thousands of strands that still connect us that actually make the difference and are, in fact, the key insight to Marketing vs. Digitaling. Or as Fast Company put it: “Your Obsession with Millennials Won’t Survive 2017”: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett may have more in common than any two, randomly chosen Millennials.This content is appropriate for people of all ages. And that’s the point. The days of targeting media and products at people based on their age is over.Whatever demographers may say, the “millennial” moniker has worn out its usefulness. I propose an alternative–one that transcends generational boundaries, which aren’t reliable guides to traits or behaviors in the first place.…In a recent article in the ABA Banking Journal, it’s suggested, in fact, that “attitudes and habits that are widely thought to be millennial-specific may actually be quite widespread among the general population.” Relevance belongs to every age, not only during the period of a generation’s ascension to power. I have written and presented about this before. I call it Generation World, a study conducted by Y&R’s BAV (BrandAsset Valuator) across developed, semi-developed and developing countries that looked at adults 18 to 65+. Our key findings were: They do not define themselves by age or demographic. They are: Ageless — 55% say age doesn’t define me, it’s not central to who I am. Hyper-connected — 77% rely on social networks to stay connected. Evolving — 53% say my identity — who I am — is a work in progress. And we see it come to life in the way people favor brands. BAV data shows there has been a significant convergence of leadership brands across the world for 18 to 29 and 50+ over the last 20 years. Even their music taste is not too dissimilar. BBC Radio’s head of music shared, “If you look at the list of the 1,000 favorite artists for 60-year-olds, and the 1,000 favorite artists for 13-year-olds, there is a 40% overlap.” So while Millennials are being given their own airlines… These days just about every marketing campaign is geared toward Millennials. So it was only a matter of time until the generation got its own airline.Air France on Thursday announced it will launch Joon, a new airline-inside-an-airline geared towards anyone born after 1980. Joon will be “aimed at a young working clientele, the millennials (18 to 35 year-olds), whose lifestyles revolve around digital technology,” a statement said.Details about the new carrier are scant, save for millennial marketing buzz words. But it will start flying European routes from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in the fall and expand to long-haul flights in mid-2018, the airline said. She’s 98. He’s 94. They Met at the Gym.She was looking ahead to Aug. 20, a day when the newlyweds will most likely have to work together to blow out the candles on Ms. Mokotoff’s birthday cake — all 99 of them.“So I’m 99, 98, it’s just a number,” Ms. Mokotoff said. “But today, I’m still 98, right? So let’s not rush things.”…Age doesn’t mean a damn thing to me or to Gert,” he said. “We don’t see it as a barrier. We still do what we want to do in life.” But most importantly, if you are a Marketer and not a just a Digitaler, post this where you can see it as you work…listen: “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” Margaret Mead There you have it…. Celebrate Generation World…it is you who are unique…not your label…

NOW PLAYING Police Video Shows Hilariously Failed Robbery A band of thieves walked right into the arms of police after stealing more than $2200 worth of goods from a Seattle Costco.

Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldier holds a weapon as he marches during a festival in a village outside Pansang, Wa territory in northeast Myanmar October 3, 2016. YANGON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Myanmar has promised to take action against policemen who beat Muslims after footage of villagers being treated violently appeared online amid tension over a government crackdown aimed at rooting out suspected insurgents. Troops have poured into Rakhine State on Myanmar’s northwestern border with Bangladesh since gunmen attacked border posts on Oct. 9, killing nine officers. The Myanmar army sweep has sent some 34,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority fleeing into neighboring Bangladesh, the United Nations says. Residents and rights groups accuse security forces of abuses during the operation including summary executions and rape, which the government of Aung San Suu Kyi denies. In footage shared widely on social media and aired by Myanmar broadcasters, several policemen appeared to beat and kick two villagers during an operation in which dozens of Rohingya Muslims were told to line up for questioning. The video offers a rare glimpse into the region that has been cut off to aid workers and other outsiders since October. Suu Kyi’s office confirmed the authenticity of the footage, which it said was shot by a member of the police during a clearance operation on Nov. 5 in northern Rakhine State. “Action will be taken against police who allegedly beat villagers,” the office said in a statement issued late on Sunday. Police were acting on a tip-off that gunmen who attacked police two days earlier were being sheltered in the village, called Kotankauk, the office said. The office identified four policemen by name, including the leader of the operation and one it said could be seen beating villagers in the video. “Further investigations are being carried out to expose other police officers who beat the villagers,” it said. A senior police officer in the capital of Naypyitaw told Reuters authorities detained four policemen on Monday on suspicion they were involved in the beating. The officer declined to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to media. The violence in Rakhine State has renewed international criticism that Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi has done too little to help members of the Muslim minority, who are denied citizenship in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar.

Last summer, Americans spent around $101.1 billion on travel. And while that’s great news for the cities where tourists typically flock, it also means there’s a lot of cash up for grabs by scammers. Traveling presents many opportunities for pickpockets, hackers and other nefarious folk to get their hands on your financial information. So whether you’re touring Europe or enjoying a staycation this summer, here’s how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud. 1. Clean out your wallet and leave your debit card at home. For some thieves, pickpocketing is an art. Spending time in busy trains, restaurants and shopping areas means you’ll undoubtedly be a target at some point. It’s important to keep small bills and change on hand for tips and other small purchases, but no more than about $50 total. It’s a good idea to spread it out, too. For instance, keep some cash in a secure crossbody bag or a money belt hidden under your clothing. Sneak another bill under the pad of your shoe or in your bra. If you’re traveling with another person, have them hold some of your cash, too. You should also leave your debit card at home since it grants direct access to your bank account and offers less protection than a credit card. “Debit cards are more complex in terms of usage and regulations, and you could potentially lose all the money in your account,” said Steven Bearak, CEO of personal identity protection service IdentityForce. Instead, you should carry a chip-enabled credit card ― ideally, one that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees ― as well as a backup credit card. Set up alerts on these cards, so you get a text or email any time a purchase goes through. As far as other documents, such as your Social Security card, birth certificate or checks, it’s best to leave them at home, too. Instead, scan copies of any important documentation you might need. “Scan your credit cards, passports, identification and prescriptions (including eyeglasses and contacts), and upload them all to your cloud of choice,” said Kate Horrell, a personal finance blogger and frequent traveler. “Having easy access to the information you need can make it 100 times easier to cancel and replace.” 2. Set up two-factor authentication and turn off automatic Wi-Fi. Your phone probably holds more valuables than your actual wallet. With your email, online banking apps and other sensitive information all just one tap away, you can’t afford to let access to your phone fall into the wrong hands. Bearak recommended that whether it’s your smartphone, tablet or any other device you bring along, set up a strong passcode of four or more digits to unlock them. Additionally, setting up two-factor authentication will add an extra layer of security. Two-factor authentication is a second verification step required to unlock a device or account in addition to entering a password ― for example, your smartphone’s fingerprint or facial recognition feature. And although you should avoid accessing sensitive information from public internet cafes or Wi-Fi networks, sometimes it’s necessary. “Even if it’s a quick look at your email, these connections may not be secure ... criminals could get into your system covertly and then install a keylogger program that sends all your activity back to them,” explained Bearak. “If you need Wi-Fi, only choose networks that are password-protected. And, turn off the setting on your phone that allows it to automatically connect to open Wi-Fi networks, because you never know who is tapping in and waiting for you.” To be extra safe, set up two-factor authentication on your email account as well, since that’s where scammers will go to reset online banking passwords. For instance, Gmail offers this feature, which requires you to enter a unique code sent to your phone every time you log in. Just be sure that if you enable additional verification steps, your cell phone will work properly in the areas you plan to travel. 3. Stick with ATMs inside banks. When you do use a debit card, be wary of ATMs in dark corners or off the beaten path. Often, these machines can be rigged with tools to swipe your card information. For instance, criminals can place counterfeit card readers over the real ones to capture your card data. That’s why it’s important to use a chip-enabled card and ATM only, which rely on a unique transaction code every time you use them. Even so, as long as your card still has a magnetic strip on the back, you’re still susceptible to fraud. Some ATMs might also be under surveillance by a small camera meant to capture your PIN as you enter it into the machine. It’s a good idea to stick with ATMs inside banks, rather than in gas stations or convenience stores or on street corners. You can never be too careful, though, so always take extra precautions, such as jiggling the card reader before inserting your card to check for tampering and covering the keypad when entering your PIN. 4. Don’t look like a clueless tourist. During the summer months, droves of jet-lagged travelers swarm the streets. It’s a feeding frenzy for pickpockets and scammers, who can easily spot distracted foreigners and take advantage. Don’t put a target on your own back by looking like a tourist. “The stereotype of a loud American with a baseball cap, huge white sneakers, and an oversized camera is real, and it will make you a target in some places,” said Horrell. Do some research ahead of time to learn how the locals dress. “You don’t have to change your entire style,” said Horrell. However, you’ll probably want to leave the Crocs and cargo shorts at home. “Plus, fanny packs SCREAM tourist,” Horrell added. Look up your routes ahead of time and know where you’re going so you’re not caught staring at a map or your phone as you navigate. This is a big red flag that you are unsure of your surroundings and distracted. If you do get lost, fake it till you make it ― appearing confident and alert at all times will make you a less attractive target. 5. Keep it off social media. Although your focus might be on thwarting criminals abroad, preventing theft starts at home. The person who scams you on vacation could be one of your friends ― Facebook friends, that is. Social media presents countless opportunities for TMI, and that includes information about where you are. “Posting real-time updates, including photos, during a trip sends a clear message that ‘I’m not home! You can go break into my house!’” said Bearak, CEO of IdentityForce. This can leave your valuables at risk, as well as documents and paperwork containing sensitive information. Friends taking advantage of you in this way seems totally unlikely, but it happens.

Sophia is the genius behind making billions of dollars for large global corporations. Sophia, is an internationally recognized leader on Requirements, award-winning president of ‘Business Analyst Solutions’, has spoken internationally at over 30 conferences and has been rated one of the best speakers and trainers at conferences around the globe with training and requirements. She is a sought-after speaker at Business Analysis conferences - most recently BA World San Francisco, Shanghai, London and Vancouver. “Sophia, is an internationally recognized leader on Requirements,” in the IT marketplace. Accurate software requirements written by accomplished Systems analysts are a rarity. Too frequently, software requirements are vague and open to interpretation, leaving projects at considerable expense and delay. Seventy percentage of software projects fail due to poor requirements with an associated rework spend just over 45 Billion USD annually. 74 Million USD invested in projects annually are at risk of failure because of troubled projects having challenges that can be addressed by accurate software requirements. It is a challenge to find an expert who can successfully capture accuracy of a software requirements and yet Sophia has demonstrated this successfully in her highly visible leadership and critical role, which has directly resulted in savings of over $30 million.” Her acclaimed work has directly contributed in savings of over $30 million. In Sophia’s nearly 20 years of success including leading implementation of requirements for global, multi-million projects, in multiple industries and been responsible for successfully capturing delivery of requirements-based business transformations saving global corporations such as IBM, News Corporation, Crays International, billions of dollars. “Sophia’s has been invited to write in acclaimed international journals and magazines.” Sophia is expert in helping you discover to deliver products your customers value. She helps organizations globally who want to leverage their strengths and improve their product development practices through coaching, consulting, and training services. In addition to her business and innovation leadership, Sophia has written extensively on software requirements techniques, experiences, and ideas. Some of her writing can be found in acclaimed international journals and magazines. Sophia ground-breaking work has helped hundreds of companies around the globe save billions of dollars. She coaches and trains individuals and teams, and facilitates discovery and planning workshops across diverse industries. Sophia has, over many years, helped hundreds of companies improve their requirements techniques and helped global clients excel with agile requirements and business analysis, requirements and risk management practices, and collaborative workshops for product discovery, planning and roadmapping, team chartering, and retrospectives.

This article originally appeared on A Daughter's Love Grief is a natural reaction when we suffer the loss of a loved one. Unfortunately our society has no idea on how to handle grief and how to treat someone who has just suffered the loss of a great love. For starters when someone dies we say passed, transitioned or whatever else comes to mind. When my father died I had an older relative (bless her soul) reprimand me for saying my father died. What is wrong with the word dead? Last time I checked that’s what he was dead. But for some death forces us to think about our own mortality, our own failures in life and that’s just too much to handle. So instead we fluff our words, walk on eggshells and avoid saying trigger words. Something happens when someone you love dies. If you are like me and you are forced to watch your real life super hero suffer it changes you. You feel helpless as you watch someone you love slowly fade away. When your person dies so does a piece of you. You are left with a tremendous hole in your heart. Your soul weeps and no matter what you do there is no way to comfort it. As you begin to walk your grief journey well meaning friends repeat the myths they have heard or the lies that were told to them when they suffered a loss. They know no other way because our society knows no other way. Society wants us to get over it and move on, and if we can’t get over it they want us to put on a pretty grief mask when we are out in public. Grief is the elephant in the room wearing a pink tutu that no one wants to acknowledge. But the truth is where there is great love there is great grief that lasts a lifetime and us grievers desperately want to acknowledge it. Below are some of the lies we encounter throughout our grief journey: You must stop living in the past and move on This is something we love to tell our widowed community. As a grieving daughter I cringe when I hear people tell my newly widowed mother to “move on.” People who tell someone grieving to move on do not know loss. They say ignorance is bliss and in this situation it sure is. It’s easy to tell a heart broken widow to move on when you’re going home to your significant other. Think about the irony of that and how hurtful it is. Instead of telling Peggy to move on try saying, “I have no idea how you’re feeling but I’m here for you.” Remembering our loved ones keeps their presence with us and is a way of honoring them and a way of honoring our feelings. It keeps the love alive. 2. You need to get over it No one has the right to tell you how you feel. There is no time stamp on grief. There is no normal way to grieve. Our grief is as unique as a snowflake. You do not have to get over it. 3. You really shouldn’t talk about him or her so much As long as I have breath in me I will be my father’s living breathing legacy. I write to keep my father’s memory alive. The only people who cannot bear to hear you speak of your beloved are those who are unable to accept their own mortality. What better way to honor a beautiful life than to extend all the love we can no longer give our loved ones to others? Talking about our loved ones creates legacy for our loved ones in a world that would rather bury its emotions and move on. These are just some of the myths that we are told while grieving a great loss. The truth is no one can understand what you lost. No one can understand the searing pain you are feeling in your heart. No one can understand that there are times you want to die as well; no not because you are suicidal but because you yearn to hear your loved ones voice one more time, to hug them one more time or to tell them you love them one last time. Death is final, grief lasts a lifetime.

As with every month, Netflix is adding quite a few shows and movies in June that you’ll be excited for, as well as many that are mediocre. A new murder mystery docuseries called “The Staircase”: I’m sure I’ll be enthralled. A new season of “Queer Eye”: the charisma is over-powering. The final “Portlandia” season: not great that it’s gone, but great you get to watch it on Netflix. “The Prince & Me 4: The Elephant Adventure”: I don’t know what this is and I don’t care to learn. There are movies that recently achieved both box office and critical success, such as “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” rewatchable classics like “The Departed” and “Miracle,” and inarguably the best work from Nicolas Cage, “National Treasure.” Perhaps the secret theme this month is action/adrenaline as most of the highlights fall into that category. All of the above titles certainly do, as well as other notable movies like “Step Up 2: The Streets” and “In Bruges.” The new seasons of Netflix Originals like “Luke Cage,” “Sense8” and “Glow” are also going to be heavy with thrills. But the most action-packed thriller joining Netflix this June is of course the 2008 movie “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” about two young people who wander around a city and decide they like each other because they both like music. While you’re gaining a lot on the service, you’re also losing many movies as well. You’ll want to watch “Training Day,” “8 Mile” or “The Angry Bird Movie” now as it’s your last chance. Check out the full list of arrivals and departures below. And if you want to stay informed on what’s joining Netflix on a weekly basis, make sure to subscribe to the Streamline newsletter. The Departed "The Departed" is coming to Netflix Superlatives for arrivals Unique Titles I Don’t Recognize, But You Should Check Out: “Assassination Games” “The Prince & Me 4: The Elephant Adventure” (OK, I Googled and apparently this stars a younger Chris Geere from “You’re The Worst”) “Churchill’s Secret Agents: The New Recruits” “Fate/EXTRA Last Encore: Oblitus Copernican Theory” Title That Has The Reverse Name Of A Pixar Movie: “Outside In” Movie That Is A National Treasure: “National Treasure” Most Legendary Sequel Name: “Step Up 2: The Streets” Best Chance Of Having A Dog: “Disney’s 101 Dalmatians” Ji Sub Jeong/HP This is part of Streamline, HuffPost’s weekly recommendation service for streaming shows and movies. Every Saturday, Streamline ranks the best shows to watch online, including a specific focus on Netflix. Arrivals June 1 “Assassination Games” “Blue Jasmine” “Busted!” (Season Finale, Netflix Original) “Disney’s 101 Dalmatians” “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” “He Named Me Malala” “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth” “Just Friends” “Miracle” “National Treasure” “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” “November 13: Attack on Paris” (Netflix Original) “Outside In” “Righteous Kill” “Rumor Has It” “Singularity” “Taking Lives” “Terms and Conditions May Apply” “The Boy” “The Covenant” “The Departed” “The Prince & Me 4: The Elephant Adventure” The Departed "The Departed" is coming to Netflix June 2 “The King’s Speech” June 3 “The Break with Michelle Wolf” (Season 1, new episodes on Sundays, Netflix Original) June 5 “Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok” June 7 “Hyori’s Bed & Breakfast” (Season 2, new episodes on Thursdays) “The Night Shift” (Season 4) June 8 “Alex Strangelove” (Netflix Film) “Ali’s Wedding” (Netflix Film) “Marcella” (Season 2, Netflix Original) “Sense8: The Series Finale” (Netflix Original) “The Hollow” (Netflix Original) “The Staircase” (Netflix Original) “Treehouse Detectives” (Netflix Original) June 9 “Wynonna Earp” (Season 2) June 10 “Portlandia” (Season 8) Portlandia Season 8 of "Portlandia" is coming to Netflix June 14 “Cutie and the Boxer” “Marlon” (Season 1) June 15 “La Hora Final” “Lust Stories″ (Netflix Film) “Maktub″ (Netflix Film) “Queer Eye” (Season Two, Netflix Original) “Set It Up″ (Netflix Film) “Step Up 2: The Streets” “Sunday’s Illness″ (Netflix Film) “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” “The Ranch: Part 5″ (Netflix Original) “True: Magical Friends″ (Netflix Original) “True: Wonderful Wishes″ (Netflix Original) “Voltron: Legendary Defender” (Season 6, Netflix Original) June 16 “Grey’s Anatomy” (Season 14) “In Bruges” June 17 “Club de Cuervos presenta: La balada de Hugo Sánchez″ (Netflix Original) “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 5) June 18 “Encerrados” June 19 “Hannah Gadsby: Nanette” (Netflix Original) June 22 “Brain on Fire″ (Netflix Film) “Cooking on High″ (Netflix Original) “Derren Brown: Miracle″ (Netflix Original) “Heavy Rescue: 401” (Season 2, Netflix Original) “Marvel’s Luke Cage″ (Season 2, Netflix Original) “Us and Them” (Netflix Film) David Lee/Netflix Season 2 of "Marvel's Luke Cage" is coming to Netflix June 23 “Disney’s Tarzan” June 24 “To Each, Her Own (Les Goûts et les couleurs )” (Netflix Film) June 25 “Hotel Transylvania” (Season 1) June 26 “Secret City” (Netflix Original) “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” “Kamau Bell: Private School Negro” (Netflix Original) June 29 “Churchill’s Secret Agents: The New Recruits” (Netflix Original) “Glow” (Season 2, Netflix Original) “Harvey Street Kids” (Netflix Original) “Kiss Me First” (Netflix Original) “La Forêt” (Netflix Original) “La Pena Maxima” “Nailed It! (Season 2, Netflix Original) “Paquita Salas” (Season 2, Netflix Original) “Recovery Boys” (Netflix Original) “TAU” (Netflix Film) Erica Parise/Netflix Season 2 of "Glow" is coming to Netflix June 30 “Fate/EXTRA Last Encore: Oblitus Copernican Theory” (Netflix Original) “Mohawk” Date TBA “iZombie” (Season 4) “Life Sentence” (Season 1) “Supergirl” (Season 3) Departures

This year, Ogilvy once again opened ColorComm in Miami – an amazing event bringing together a diverse mix of innovators, newsmakers and game changers representing the best in marketing and communications today, from both the agency and brand side. At the event, I moderated a panel entitled, “Reinventing Madison Avenue” – discussing today’s modern marketing era and how practioners today must meet the needs of a new breed of buyer that is driving our industry forward. I shared the stage with Anne Madison, Chief Strategy and Communications Officer for Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States and my two Ogilvy colleagues, Kathy Baird and Tola St. Matthew-Daniel. Ten years ago, there wouldn’t have been a ColorComm or a panel at ColorComm led by women in communications. Agencies today realize that we need to have the right people to service clients – this includes women, people of color, millennials, etc. ColorComm is an important venue for us as Ogilvy as we are focused on having a talent pool that is as diverse as the clients we work with and the brands they represent. As a first-time speaker, attendee and woman of color in communications taking on the challenges and opportunities with diversity in our industry, I asked Tola to share her takeaways from her time in Miami. She recaps her ColorComm debut as a guest on my blog below. Recently, I had the opportunity to represent Ogilvy at ColorComm, the only business conference and retreat for women of color in communications bringing together a diverse and dynamic audience of more than 400 leaders, innovators and rising stars in communications to discuss the topics driving the industry. I’ve only been at Ogilvy just over six months and was honored to participate when Ogilvy’s own Jennifer Risi invited me to join her as a speaker on the conference’s opening panel session. The 3-day extravaganza exposed me to a whole new world I never knew existed - a rich and complex sisterhood of exceptional women making their mark on the communications and changing the face of the industry. As both a speaker and an attendee, my ColorComm debut gave me the ultimate opportunity to experience the event in a multifaceted way, seeing both sides of the coin. Here are three key takeaways that I learned at the conference: Go. Just Go: Looking at the audience during our session on “Reinventing Madison Avenue,” I realized this was a conversation that could have happened anywhere but with faces that looked like mine staring right back – I understood why it had to happen here. As the industry evolves, diversity presents an enormous challenge and opportunity. While numbers capture the scale of the issue, there’s no substitute for the face-to-face connections events like ColorComm offers to deeply engage and understand the issues. These forums are rare but necessary. Go and tell someone you know about it. Find Your Fairy Godmother: Walking this communications journey alone is a foolhardy choice. It’s also impossible to do it well. Do yourself a favor and find the right people to steer you in the right direction. With a range of participants at different stages of their careers and from all walks of life, you are literally surrounded by a sea of potential mentors and sponsors that could enrich your personal life and professional career and they’re waiting for you to say hello. Like ColorComm honoree and Ogilvy’s Kathy Baird said on mentorship,” "I consider it a privilege. Don't be offended if I don't respond immediately. Keep trying.” Surprise Yourself: The official theme at this year’s #C2Miami rings true every day for everyone in our industry but especially for women of color in communications. Although giant strides have been made to be more diverse and inclusive, the challenge remains. You can’t afford to be a wall flower or play it safe it. Being bold is a prerequisite because in many instances you are literally doing what has never been done. Pioneering, inventing, transforming – surprising yourself and the world around you. Given the changing communications landscape, diversity is more important today than it has ever been– it isn’t a footnote but a central focus. There’s much more that can and should be done to engage, enrich and empower women of color to galvanize our industry. ColorComm’s success is proof that forums like these are impactful. After all, there is a reason why practically every single holding company was represented in Miami. Attending ColorComm with the dynamic Ogilvy team was a life-changing experience. For me, it truly brought to life a key pillar in Ogilvy’s next chapter strategy to become an agency as diverse as the clients we work with and the brands they represent. I’m excited for my journey ahead at Ogilvy.

What’s the “Trump Doctrine” of foreign policy? At first glance, foreign policy under Trump seems inconsistent, arbitrary, and devoid of principle. A few weeks ago, even before the airstrike on Syria, Trump communications director Mike Dubke told Trump’s assembled aides that international affairs presented a messaging challenge because the Trump administration lacks a coherent foreign policy. “There is no Trump doctrine,” Dubke declared. I think Dubke is being grossly unfair. Of course there’s a Trump Doctrine. You just have to know where to look for it. The Trump Doctrine began to emerge when Trump issued his travel bans (both the first and second) on predominantly Muslim countries. But he notably excluded predominately Muslim countries where Trump has business interests. So under what might be called the First Principle of the Trump Doctrine, people living in a predominantly Muslim country have a chance of entering the United States only if their country contains an edifice with Trump’s name on it. The Second Principle follows logically from the first. Countries that are potential markets for Trump’s business ― nominally run by his two sons, but still filling his pockets ― may be eligible for special favors if they allow Trump to make money there. For example, Trump’s business currently has 157 trademark applications pending in 36 nations, according to the New York Times. Registered trademarks are giant financial assets for a business like Trump’s, which in recent years has made big money by selling his name rather than by building or making anything. Soon after he was sworn into office ― but only after Trump backed off of his brief flirtation with a “two China” policy ― the Chinese government granted Trump preliminary approval of 38 trademarks of his name. “It was a gift,” said Peter J. Riebling, a trademark lawyer in Washington, of China’s decision. “Getting the exclusive right to use that brand in China against everyone else in the world? It’s like waving a magic wand.” One potential obstacle for the Second Principle is the Constitution’s “emoluments” clause, which bars U.S. government officials from receiving gifts from foreign powers. No matter. Apparently the Trump Doctrine, well, trumps the Constitution. A group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), joined by several prominent law professors, is suing Trump over this. But the United States ― through the U.S. Department of Justice ― argues in a legal brief, expected to be filed this month, that the framers of the Constitution meant only to rule out gifts that compensate presidents or other office holders for services they might do for a foreign power, not for public policies they advance that benefit a foreign power. Interpretations of the U.S. Constitution by the Department of Justice aren’t like the musings of any random defense attorney. They carry special weight. They represent the views and interests of the United States. Which makes this one official U.S. government policy ― and thereby, confirms it as the Second Principle of the Trump Doctrine. The Third Principle comes down hard on countries that kill their own children with poison gas. They will be bombed. You may recall Trump had long been opposed to bombing Syria. But, as he recently explained, Syrian dictator Basha al-Assad’s “attack on children… had a big impact on me,“ adding that “my attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much.” The bombing ensued. This doesn’t mean endangered children will be given refuge in the United States, though. Recall the First Principle: Nobody gains entrance to the United States from a predominantly Muslim nations unless their country contains a Trump hotel, spa, or golf course. Which brings us to the Fourth Principle. Not long after the Syrian bombing, Trump authorized the Pentagon to drop a 22,000-pound GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB) on people described as “Islamic State forces” in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border. It was the first time the bomb ― nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” and one of the largest air-dropped munitions in the U.S. military’s inventory ― had ever been used in a combat. Trump’s rationale? The group was allegedly connected to ISIS. So under the Fourth Principle of the Trump Doctrine, the United States reserves the right to drop a mother of a bomb on any group seemingly connected with ISIS. This applies even if the group is not fighting to gain or hold territory claimed by the Islamic State. The group could be thousands of miles away from the Islamic State, anywhere around the world. Could a mother of a bomb be dropped on such a group if it’s located in a country containing a Trump hotel, or considering a Trump trademark application? Frankly, I don’t know. That pesky detail hasn’t been worked out yet. But this one uncertainty doesn’t undermine the overall consistency or clarity of the Trump Doctrine of foreign policy. It’s four major principles are firmly rooted either in making money for Trump, or stopping bad people from doing bad things. If Mike Dubke had a clearer grasp of Donald Trump’s worldview, he’d surely see this ― as would everyone else.

Just a day after the release of an underwhelming Republican-authored House Intelligence Committee memo alleging inappropriate law enforcement spying on Donald Trump’s campaign, President Donald Trump is already using it to cast aspersions on the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump’s pronouncement, issued in a Saturday morning tweet, supports the widely held view that the four-page partisan memo was designed to help Trump scuttle special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference and to cover up Trump campaign officials’ potential collusion with Russia. “This memo totally vindicates ‘Trump’ in probe,” Trump tweeted. “But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their [sic] was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction.” “This is an American disgrace!” he added. This memo totally vindicates “Trump” in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2018 The so-called Nunes memo, written by the GOP staff of House Intelligence Committee chairman and Trump transition team member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), notes that the FBI and the Department of Justice relied in part on the infamous Steele dossier to pursue a secret warrant to surveil former Trump aide Carter Page. The FBI and DOJ obtained a warrant from a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA Court, which authorizes the surveillances of suspected foreign spies inside the United States. The Steele dossier is a file former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele compiled about Trump’s involvement with the Russian government. The veracity of some of the more fantastical aspects of the dossier is highly disputed. By failing to notify the FISA judge that a Democratic-backed firm seeking dirt on Trump commissioned Steele’s work and that the agent himself was opposed to Trump’s election, FBI and DOJ officials had obtained the warrant improperly, according to the memo. It is common for high-level informants to have ulterior motives, but that rarely precludes their information from being used. And federal law enforcement officials would likely have been able to get authorization to surveil Page without the Steele dossier, since Page had long been on the federal government’s radar as someone that Russian intelligence was trying to cultivate. Yuri Gripas / Reuters President Donald Trump Rather than reveal pivotal new information about the compromised nature of the FBI, Trump’s tweet suggests that the memo’s release was merely a pretext to sow doubts about the validity of Mueller’s Russia probe. Although Mueller shows no signs of letting up and maintains the support of senior members of Congress in both parties, only some congressional Republicans are getting behind legislation that would formally protect Mueller from being fired. The memo has also already prompted the departure of a senior FBI official concerned about the president using the power of his office to disparage the agency’s integrity. Josh Campbell, a former supervisory special agent who worked as an assistant for former FBI director James Comey, publicly announced his resignation in the New York Times on Friday. (Trump’s firing of Comey, who bucked entreaties to soft-pedal the Russia investigation, led to Mueller’s appointment.)

1. You can’t bring things together and make them work if you are focused on the future. You can only bring things together based on past experiences, while hoping that knowledge gained in the process will be useful for you moving forward from that point on. 2. Anything is possible if you truly enjoy what you do. The key ingredients to success are drive and effort. 3. The Wall Street investors can be angry all they want – it does not change the fact that Alibaba is more than a job, it’s a cause and a dream. 4. The way to grow is by having an “aha” moment in which the task ahead seems impossible, but with a little bit of effort and elbow grease, it works out and you get things done. 5. There are no shortcuts. You need to work and work and work. And just when you think you’re done, you need to work a little more. 6. Be likeable. To get people to do business with you, they need to like you. Nobody does business with someone they do not like. 7. You will do things differently when you think about how hard it is to build something and how easy it is to bring it down. Same with reputation, it takes a long time to build one, but a slight dent ruins one forever. 8. Do what little you can do and know your limits. Do not try to do beyond your capabilities. 9. Do not waste time on regrets and “what ifs.” The time being wasted on regrets can be used for other profitable things. 10. The biggest risk is taking no risk at all. 11. Products come to exist from ideas that eventually go out of vogue. This is the strength of every new business and the weakness of every existing business. 12. Learn to separate personal feelings from business. 13. Be so good at what you do, that it’s impossible for others to ignore you.

Jack Kingston tried to defend the seemingly indefensible Saturday night on CNN. Hours earlier, the president of the United States, who has personally attacked hundreds of celebrities, media figures and politicians, proved unwilling to directly condemn neo-Nazis and white supremacists, one of whom drove into a group of anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one and injuring 19 others. Kingston, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, argued that President Donald Trump’s initial response, which vaguely faulted “many sides,” was “very strong.” And he objected to criticism of Trump’s comments, telling Symone Sanders, a former press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), that he was sorry the president didn’t use “some buzzwords like ‘white supremacist.’” Sanders, who is black, responded that “white supremacy is not a buzzword; it is real.” Sanders also tangled Monday morning with Ken Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general and onetime Trump critic who later backed the Republican’s presidential candidacy. Cuccinelli dismissed the importance of the white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville, and as the conversation grew heated, he told Sanders to “shut up.” Kingston and Cuccinelli are both CNN commentators and part of at least a dozen paid contributors on the network who are reliably supportive of the president. While many prominent Republicans criticized Trump’s comments over the weekend as insufficient, paid CNN commentators like radio host Ben Ferguson and former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer touted the president’s strength and clarity. The CNN pundits’ responses weren’t monolithic. Scott Jennings, a former Bush White House official who is broadly supportive of Trump, argued that the president’s comments were not adequate. And some commentators who defended Trump’s initial response also demonstrated flexibility and a willingness to acknowledge fair criticism ― a departure from the unrestrained boosterism of Kayleigh McEnany and Jeffrey Lord, the latter of whom once compared the president to Martin Luther King Jr. The uproar over Trump’s Charlottesville remarks was the first extended cable news controversy without CNN’s two most visible pro-Trump pundits. McEnany resigned from the network last week, then appeared in a propagandistic “Real News” video for the Trump re-election campaign before being named spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee. CNN severed ties with Lord on Thursday after he tweeted a Nazi salute at a progressive activist he accused of engaging in fascist behavior. Trump’s candidacy blew up the old model of cable news punditry, in which liberal and conservative talking heads squared off on the controversy of the moment. Most prominent conservative TV commentators during the 2016 election were squarely in the “Never Trump” camp. So CNN, in an attempt to provide balance and presumably create some on-air fireworks, turned to lesser-known pundits, like McEnany and Lord, to defend even Trump’s most outrageous or fact-free claims. Lord’s contortions became legendary, such as calling House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) “racist” for condemning Trump’s racist attack on a federal judge. At times, the pair’s claims contradicted CNN’s own reporting and exasperated the network’s hosts, with Anderson Cooper once telling Lord that if the president “took a dump on his desk, you would defend it.” CNN president Jeff Zucker has long justified the network hiring pro-Trump pundits during the campaign ― including, most controversially, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who left the network shortly after the 2016 election. In April, Zucker described the pro-Trump chorus as “characters in a drama” playing out on the network. “Everybody says, ‘Oh, I can’t believe you have Jeffrey Lord or Kayleigh McEnany,’” Zucker said. “But you know what? They know who Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany are.” Indeed, “Saturday Night Live” parodied McEnany, and Lord’s unlikely celebrity status was on display during the Republican National Convention, as well-wishers, like then-Breitbart News chief Steve Bannon, paid tribute. (Bannon also called Lord on Thursday after the news broke of his departure.) Management quickly severed ties with Lord on Thursday afternoon as he rode in a CNN-sponsored car from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he lives and cares for his 98-year-old mother, to the network’s studios in New York. Lord had called Media Matters “fascist” before, including in a column Thursday morning. But CNN deemed it “indefensible” that he directed a “Sieg Heil” at Media Matters’ president on Twitter. Lord told HuffPost on Friday that CNN was “terrific,” yet expressed concern in an interview that the network’s objective may be “to get rid of all the Trump people.” “I hope they replace me and Kayleigh with somebody,” he said. CNN employs at least a dozen pundits who, to varying degrees, can be identified as pro-Trump: Kingston, Cuccinelli, Ferguson, Jennings, Bauer, former Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller, former Trump adviser Stephen Moore, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Republican strategist Alice Stewart, former Trump campaign official David Urban, talk radio host John Phillips, former Bush White House staffer Paris Dennard and former U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker. The aforementioned can’t always be counted on for knee-jerk defenses of Trump’s latest offense. For instance, Stewart recently criticized Trump’s decision to launch a sexist Twitter attack on MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. Still, several quickly hit the air in recent days to defend Trump’s Charlottesville comments amid widespread bipartisan criticism. Ferguson, the first pro-Trump pundit to appear on CNN after Trump’s Saturday remarks, argued the president was “very strong in his words,” and also placed blame during a segment the next hours on “both sides.” Ana Navarro, a CNN Republican commentator and frequent Trump critic, pushed back aggressively. She told Ferguson that Trump ”doesn’t have the spine or the guts to call out the white supremacists in America today, and I am not going to defend that, I don’t care what party he is.” During the 6 p.m. hour, Bauer said Trump’s remarks were “bold” and “very clear and precise.” On Monday, Dennard called Trump’s response “very strong and very good.” But even some of CNN’s Trump defenders acknowledged validity in the criticism. Ferguson and Bauer on Sunday, and Dennard on Monday, suggested Trump should directly mention “white supremacy” ― not because he was wrong to initially omit the word, but due to the public outcry. (On Monday afternoon, Trump finally did.) Jennings, who was recently considered for a senior role in the White House, said Saturday afternoon that the speech was not the president’s “best effort,” and lacked ”the absolute moral clarity that we need from the president of the United States at times like this.”

When we first heard about culinary art therapy, we immediately thought, “It’s about time.” It seemed so clear that cooking could be used as a form of therapy. The process of putting a meal together, or baking a treat for someone, is thoughtful. It requires attention and intention ― and it focuses your mind on a tangible task while hopefully muting out the noise of the busy world around us. We had to learn more, so we reached out to Julie Ohana, a culinary arts therapist who wrote her 2004 master’s thesis on this idea and has since built a business on it. She filled us in on the practice that appears to be growing in popularity. Here’s what she had to say: HuffPost: What exactly is culinary arts therapy? Ohana: CAT, as I like to call it, is cooking as means of therapeutic expression. Traditional talk therapy has its place for many people ― I am a firm believer in therapy ― however, I think in this modern world of 2017, many people are looking for something a bit less traditional and conventional. CAT can be an outlet for those people. What kinds of skills, dishes or meals are learned and prepared during culinary arts therapy? When I do a session for an individual or a group, I work with them to tailor make the session to their needs and likes. I have made many different kinds of dishes ranging from breakfast dishes to main courses and, of course, desserts. It isn’t so much about the kind of dish, but the process in which it is prepared and then served and enjoyed. How does culinary arts therapy work logistically? I have an office space that has a kitchen. I also recently just started doing online sessions. It is really able to fit into the life of the client, meet their needs and make it easier for them. I have also done many group sessions for staff groups in offices. Lastly, going to a client’s home is always a possibility as well. I do like to give “homework” too ― it helps the client to be more mindful and be able to translate kitchen lessons into “real world” take aways. Do you combine traditional therapy with culinary arts therapy? Great question ― it’s a hard one because it depends on the client. If someone is really aware and able to, then yes, we will make therapeutic connections in the kitchen. Sometimes they happen after the session when either me or the client makes an observation, does some journaling or in conversation afterwards. The idea is absolutely to connect the two, but it needs to be in the best way for the client. Who can benefit from culinary arts therapy? I do believe it can help with depression, anxiety and grief. The ability to step outside of certain thoughts or actions, even if it is just for an hour or so can provide tremendous relief. That hour is a good building block to grow on. Then being able to manage one self, time, thoughts, energy hopefully is learned behavior that again starts in the kitchen and then grows to other areas of someone’s life. Grief, in particular, can be something CAT can help with because of that sensory experience that is tied to memory. Cooking can help someone process those memories in a positive way and be able to allow the ability to cope with the loss, process it and move forward in a positive way. Is culinary arts therapy different than arts therapy? How? I am definitely not an expert in art therapy so I can’t really tell you about any specific details in art therapy, but I would venture to say any therapeutic technique is about the process ― and CAT is no exception. How is culinary arts therapy being accepted in the therapy world? We have a ways to go until CAT is as well known and recognized as other creative therapeutic techniques such as music therapy and art therapy. But with such a growing interest, I have no doubt that we will get there one day. I think the world has changed and evolved in so many ways, especially in the last decade or so, and this is no exception. Twenty years ago, or even 10 years ago, who would have thought that so many people would try and accept therapy over Skype or other internet-based mediums ― and this will be one day, too. What is the future of culinary arts therapy? I think more and more people are looking to gain more meaningful experiences out of the mundane, everyday task. I think the world of CAT is going to be really big one day and I hope to be a part of that growth!

Let’s cut to the chase: the Linksys Velop Whole Home WiFi Mesh System ($450) was the answer to my wifi prayers and the solution to my wifi nightmares. It’s that simple. Those nightmares — dead spots, low speeds, flaky connectivity and constant (often manual) switching between multiple hotspots — had persisted over multiple iterations of routers, extenders, repeaters, oversize antennas and more. But now they’re a thing of the past for me. If you live in a dorm or one bedroom apartment, this system isn’t for you. You should be able to get good coverage from a single router. But if those nightmares sound familiar, read on. At 2,100 square feet (3 BR, 2.5 BA), my home is nice but not enormous. But it’s a two level, stair-stepped hillside home, with a concrete retaining wall between the levels, a brick chimney between the living room and den, and an unusual zig-zag shaped upper level that forces signals to travel through exterior walls, or attempt to, as they pass from room to room. To make matters worse, my wiring closet — where my router was located — is underneath the stairs between the two levels. That means it’s shielded by wood beams and that retaining wall. All of this made it impossible to cover the house with a single router, even a powerful one (eight antennas! it looks like a giant crab) augmented by an extender. I had my doubts about whether the standard Velop three-pack — three units — would be up to the task either. I thought I might need five units, and that I’d probably have to drill holes and move the base unit — the one connected to the cable modem — out of that under-the-stairs wiring closet. I was wrong. The three-pack did the job, even with the base unit locked away under the stairs. But let’s rewind. What is a whole home wifi network, and more particularly a mesh system? Simply put, a whole home wifi system is a two- or more-unit system that’s intended to blanket your home with a single wifi network. No more switching between MyNet 2.4, MyNet 5, MyNetExtender, MyDownstairsNet, etc. It’s all just MyNet, or whatever you want to call your network. And no more dead spots, assuming the system is powerful enough for your conditions — size, walls, levels, etc. A mesh network is a particular type of whole home wifi system. Unlike some of the other technologies, mesh networks are often indefinitely expandable. For that reason, mesh networks are used commercially on college campuses and industrial complexes. The Velop is essentially a home version of that technology, and is expandable up to ten units. Installation was easy. Unboxing revealed three identical small, attractive white towers, with power adapters and a card that instructed me to download the Linksys app to my phone (iOS or Android) and follow instructions. No manual is provided or even referenced, though it turns out that one is available online. The app was straightforward. I unplugged my existing router, plugged in one of the Linksys units, and went through a number of easy steps until it was connected. I then went upstairs and placed a second unit in the front hallway and followed instructions again. At this point, the app warned me that the second unit was a bit too far from the base unit, which could result in unnecessarily slow speeds. So I repositioned the unit and repeated, this time successfully. I then positioned a third unit, this time without complaint. And I was done. Total elapsed time for the above: about twenty minutes. Testing revealed connectivity throughout the house at high speeds. I’ve been using the system for about three weeks now without problems. The app offers a variety of features, such as guest wifi and parental controls, a list of connected devices, and more granular, geeky controls that you probably won’t need. Now, a few notes: some of my devices were able to connect immediately, because I used the same name and password for the Velop that I had used with my router wifi. But other devices weren’t able to connect until I relinked them to the network and manually reentered the password, a one-time but tedious operation when you have a variety of AV gear. This would likely be the case with any new network, though, and is not specific to the Linksys system. The Velop supports WPS pushbutton wifi linking (through a soft button in the app rather than a physical button on the unit) which theoretically eliminates the need to retype passwords, but only one of my devices, a Samsung printer, successfully connected this way. That, however, was a win-win, since I’d been unable to get that printer to reliably connect at all to my previous, router-based network. A few weeks later, though, the Samsung is offline again. I’m chalking that up to the printer, not the Velop. Also noteworthy, the Velop does not have a USB port. That means you can’t attach a hard disk for NAS (Network Attached Storage). That will be a disappointment for a small minority of users, not including me. But another limitation did affect me: the Velop units each have only two Ethernet ports, as is typically the case with whole home systems. Your existing router probably has at least four ports for connecting devices, and a fifth for connection to the cable or DSL modem. On the Velop base unit, one of the ports is needed for connecting to the modem, leaving only one free for wired connections. I needed more wired connections, one for my PC and others for various other devices. The solution, I suspected, would be to turn my router into a switch, essentially disabling most of the router except the ability to use the Ethernet ports. A Google search and consultation with Linksys tech support (24/7), confirmed that this would work, and provided some necessary details. Thus, before I disconnected the router, I connected to its control interface via a browser, shut off its wifi, and set its Internet connectivity to “bridge” or “switch” mode. If you’re not tech savvy — or even if you are, probably — you’ll need to consult your router manual on how to do this or call your router manufacturer’s tech support. Or ask Google, which knows all and tells all. Try “use [router model] as a switch or bridge.” Next, I installed the Velop system as described above. Then I accessed the router again via my wired PC (which at this point had no Internet connectivity but was still connected to the router). I set the router to use a static IP address I randomly chose within the range that the Velop was using, which I determined by consulting the app on my phone. Then I had to set several other parameters as well. For subnet, I used the same subnet as the Velop used (determined by consulting the app again); for gateway, I copied the Velop’s IP address (likewise); and for DNS, at tech support’s instruction, I specified 8.8.8.8. And, finally, I plugged the router (via its WAN/Internet Ethernet port) into the Velop base unit. Voila, my wired devices were back online. This process sounds complex, but it’s only necessary if you need to plug more than one wired device into the Velop base unit (or more than two wired devices into any of the Velop satellite units). And if you want to avoid the hassle, just buy an inexpensive Ethernet switch, such as the Linksys SE2500 ($43, not tested) or the even more economical TP-Link TL-SG1005D ($15, not tested), and use it instead of your router. Speaking of cost, the Linksys Velop is a bit more expensive than its competitors, some which aren’t true mesh networks and at least one of which comes with only two units. I haven’t tested the others, so all I can say is, do your homework. Well, I can also say this: the Linksys Velop solved my tough wifi problems. It might well solve yours too.

“Sixteen people versus in the thousands,” Trump said on Tuesday. “You can be very proud of all of your people and all of our people working together. Sixteen versus literally thousands of people. You can be very proud. Everyone around this table, and everyone watching, can be very proud of what’s taking place in Puerto Rico.” Hours after Trump’s press briefing on the island, Gov. Rosselló announced that the death toll had more than doubled. As of Friday morning, the death toll stood at 36.

When it comes to identity, most think “who are you?” The question I’ve consistently heard is, “what are you?” Some insist I’m Brazilian and others guess I’m from the Middle East, but my mom’s Indian and my dad’s white. While being biracial has kept me constantly aware of both my ethnicities, the college admissions process has sparked an identity crisis. In seventh grade, it started. “You could apply for a Hispanic scholarship,” my sister said at the dinner table, half-jokingly, “since Mom’s maiden name is Fernandez and most people think you look Hispanic.” There isn’t anything Hispanic about my identity; my mom’s maiden name only stems from Portuguese missionaries in her Indian village. Even in seventh grade, I knew who I was — part white, but not quite. I was aware my white friends probably weren’t wearing churidars to their Christmas celebrations. I could smell that their mothers’ cooking certainly had fewer spices. And as I gathered from their constant invitations to hang out, their parents weren’t nearly as strict about homework, grades or performance. I was Indian-American and I had no problem with that. I was realizing that according to colleges, however, to have Indian blood is to be robotic, passionless and devoid of personality. Harvard , for example, is the pinnacle of education but apparently not fond of the personalities of Asians. To suspect a bias against Asian-American students is one thing. But to realize that the perception of coming up short in having a “positive personality” and being “widely respected” contributes to a 24 percent decrease in accepted Asian-Americans is another. Harvard’s dismissal of Asians feels like a high school popularity contest — as if the elite school is telling me, “No matter how hard or passionately you work on your education, unless you’re liked you’ll only be that nerdy Indian kid.” Naturally, I dodged from these stereotypes and disadvantages and searched for other routes to my college dreams. I was realizing that according to colleges, however, to have Indian blood is to be robotic, passionless and devoid of personality The advice continued to float by in high school, though. An article popped up about a company that helps with college applications that advised top students to “appear less Asian.” The evidence was piling up — getting into an elite college meant hiding my ethnicity. It was a hurtful message. Apparently, the culture I loved and lived with was unappreciated and disdained. Still, college was my goal and so I convinced myself: I could just be white! At the start of junior year, however, I stopped being so sure. As I perused college essay questions, the words “background” and “identity” kept popping up. I pictured paragraphs on being biracial and bilingual. I knew the adaptability, open-mindedness and cultural knowledge central to my identity was thanks to my heritage. Learning my mother’s native tongue, Malayalam, had opened me up to the world. I was so grateful and proud of my heritage. Just as quickly as I had these fond thoughts, I deleted my imaginary paragraphs. It felt like I was deleting myself but if I answered these questions instinctively and truthfully, I’d give away my Asian ethnicity and, according to all my gathered statistics and advice, possibly cost myself a college admission. Rebecca Stevenson The author and her mother. But here was my dilemma: There was no question I could figure out how to entirely answer without being Indian. I couldn’t communicate my personal identity with colleges without revealing my ethnicity. Since birth, I had been explaining my heritage to confused faces with pride, and my unpracticed attempt in hiding it only left me feeling ashamed. I decided to take a different approach — I would be the very best Asian I could be. Khan Academy’s SAT prep replaced my social life and became a constant companion. The SAT transformed into a desperate idol and the numbers became the defining factor of my identity. But numbers are not reliable and the identity sharply shattered when the marks for my first SAT came in more than 100 points below my target. I had failed in making a stellar SAT score part of my identity. Still, the relentlessly hard-working Indian culture predictably prodded me forward without hesitation. So I picked up the pieces of my fallen pride, studied again with renewed humility and received a score over my initial goal. But then what? My obsession didn’t stop. I wasn’t satisfied. My supposed embracing of Asian stereotypes had led me to a path of dangerous idolization. Where I was once content with personal devotion and honest ambition, I became concerned with college success by whatever means necessary. My mother and her culture had, throughout my life, encouraged me to work hard, study hard and pursue what I love. However, I had pushed away my true heritage, as well as the words of my parents, and allowed the college and media stereotypes of a culture to pressure me and define my identity. The truth — the truth I now realize — is that I am unlike any other Asian. No Asian is like any other Asian. Sure, some work hard on their standardized tests. Some play violin like maestros. Others don’t wish to go to college at all. Regardless, they are all Asian and so am I. How I look on a college application defines neither my identity nor my ethnicity. The truth — the truth I now realize — is that I am unlike any other Asian. No Asian is like any other Asian My tumultuous journey with college applications during junior year did reveal that I was, whether I liked it or not, Asian. I wasn’t a stereotype but I did have my culture. If I didn’t have an Indian mother, I without a doubt would not have the work ethic that I have. I would not have the love of ancient stories and civilizations that I have. I would not have the awareness of poverty in both the United States and India. A life where I am not Indian is a life where I am not myself. Why should I hide the beauty of my Indian-American culture? Why should any Asian hide their magnificent heritage? The diversity of Asia includes cultures that no one should be ashamed of. The stereotypical pinpoints of Asian culture, diligence, discipline, and obedience, are only an aspect of Asian culture — and an often noble aspect at that. The stories that each individual Asian student and family have are bound to be more diverse and flavorful than colleges could expect. My college application doesn’t define my identity. No college is worth hiding who I am. I will write about the beauty of being biracial and the stories from my family home in India. I will enthusiastically share how my Indian heritage has birthed my passions. I will confess who I am entirely, for I am not ashamed. I will be Asian and white and all that I am and if a college doesn’t want to accept that, I don’t want to be there. Whether it hinders my admission or not, I will be putting “Asian” on my college application.

Twelve days after a gunman fatally shot 10 people at Santa Fe High School, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday released a wide-ranging set of proposals that he says will keep students safer. The 43-page document covers a number of areas, including school security, mental health care and gun laws related to firearm safety. At a press conference at the school district headquarters in Dallas, Abbott called the plan a “starting point,” while working to balance his standing as a gun rights supporter with his newfound willingness to explore modest reforms of firearm laws. “I doubt there has been a Texas governor with a more pro-gun record than myself,” Abbott said. “I can assure you, I will never allow Second Amendment rights to be infringed. But I will always promote responsible gun ownership, and that includes keeping guns safe and keeping them out of the hands of criminals.” Among Abbott’s proposed changes to gun laws would be a strengthening of his state’s child access prevention law, which currently only applies to incidents in which a child under 17 obtains a “readily dischargeable” firearm from an adult’s property. The alleged attacker in Santa Fe, a 17-year-old student, reportedly took his father’s legally owned revolver and shotgun and brought them to class concealed under a trenchcoat. Because of the gunman’s age, his parents can’t be held criminally liable for his actions under state law. Abbott said he supports adjusting the statute to cover anyone under 18, as well as strengthening the penalty to a third-degree felony in any case where child access results in death or serious bodily injury. The current law only provides for misdemeanor charges. The law should also be clarified to include both loaded and unloaded guns stored around children, which could make it easier for prosecutors to pursue these charges, the proposal states. Recent reports have shown the Texas law is used very infrequently. Lucas Jackson / Reuters Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) speaks at the annual National Rifle Association convention in Dallas on May 4. In addition, Abbott called for the legislature to authorize a study on a “red flag” law, which would allow law enforcement, family members, school employees or district attorneys to file petitions seeking the removal of firearms from dangerous individuals. Eight states currently have red flag laws on the books, and three states, including Florida, have put these laws in place since the February shooting in Parkland. The NRA-affiliated Texas State Rifle Association has said it would oppose any such measure over concerns that it could lead to the violation of due process. Abbott has clarified that any confiscation of firearms must come after “due process is provided.” A Texas red flag law could have a substantial effect on shootings, said Ed Scruggs, spokesman for Texas Gun Sense, a nonprofit focused on gun violence prevention. “We believe that has a lot of potential to prevent major tragedies and especially suicides,” he told HuffPost. The governor’s report specifically notes that red flag orders “could have been used to prevent the shootings” at Sutherland Springs, where 26 people were killed at a church in November, and at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where 17 people were killed. Abbott also urged lawmakers to work on legislation to require gun owners to report when their firearms are lost or stolen within 10 days. An estimated 177,000 guns were stolen in Texas between 2012 and 2015, according to a 2017 report. Only 12 states currently require gun owners to report the loss or theft of a firearm. Overall, the proposal is far from perfect, Scruggs said. But considering the reliably fraught politics of the gun debate in Texas, it could have been worse. “There are some positive steps that most people would classify as moderate steps or basic steps, but for Texas it really represents some form of progress,” he said. Although Abbott’s willingness to discuss changes to gun laws may come as a surprise to some, most of his proposed measures don’t involve legislative reform. “The strategy that I most strongly encourage the Legislature to consider is greater investment in mental health,” Abbott said at Wednesday’s press conference. Abbott specifically described his support for expanding a telemedicine program designed to identify junior high and high school students at risk of committing violence and intervene by providing them with mental health services. The program, developed by Texas Tech University and facilitated through the university’s health services center, is already in use in a number of Texas school districts and has shown positive results in the form of reduced truancy and discipline among referred students. The document lays out a number of measures to fortify schools by increasing the number of armed personnel, potentially including teachers, on campus. Other proposals would increase the use of metal detectors, monitoring and surveillance, and would explore new construction to maintain greater control of school entrances, exits and external access. Altogether, the initiatives would cost $110 million to implement, around $70 million of which is already available in the form of federal funding and state grants, according to the report. To gun violence prevention advocates, it would be well worth the investment. Since 2009, Texas has experienced at least 20 mass shootings involving at least four fatalities apiece, the most of any state. These events have included the Sutherland Springs massacre, two separate shootings at Fort Hood, a 2016 attack on police officers in Dallas and many instances of domestic violence. Abbott’s plan follows three days of roundtable discussions held last week with a number of groups, as well as survivors of the Santa Fe shooting. Many of the measures in Abbott’s blueprint would require approval from the Texas Legislature, which is not currently in session. Abbott said he would be open to calling a special session to consider the bills, as long as there was “consensus” among lawmakers on some of the legislation. If the governor doesn’t act, the legislature will reconvene in January, two months after the November elections, when Abbott will face Democrat Lupe Valdez, the former sheriff of Dallas County. In the wake of the Santa Fe shooting, Valdez and others have called for Abbott to pursue stronger gun laws, and specifically universal background checks for all firearm purchases. Abbott’s plan dismisses that proposal, arguing that many criminals get firearms via the black market, where background checks don’t apply.

"Call Me by Your Name" The closest we came to cinematic perfection in Park City was "Call Me by Your Name," an adaptation of André Aciman's acclaimed novel of the same name. An aria about first love and perfect weather, the movie stars Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet as housemates turned unlikely lovers during an all-too-brief Italian summer. Director Luca Guadagnino, whose previous credits include "I Am Love" and "A Bigger Splash," earned a standing ovation at the premiere, signaling bright things to come for this sensual romance, which sold to Sony Pictures Classics before the festival.

WASHINGTON ― Republicans say they see no need to pass legislation to protect Robert Mueller, the head of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, despite fresh attacks from President Donald Trump against him over the weekend. Trump took on the special counsel by name for the first time on Saturday, writing the next day on Twitter that his probe was not “fair” and stating falsely that it was staffed by all Democrats and no Republicans. The president’s attorney, John Dowd, later urged the Justice Department to immediately end the special counsel probe. Despite ensuing White House denials, Dowd’s statement and Trump’s pointed attacks earlier in the day led many to speculate that Mueller’s job could be in peril. On Monday, Trump again criticized the Russia investigation, alleging it had “massive conflicts of interest.” A total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 19, 2018 Republicans over the weekend offered a mostly muted response to Trump’s attacks against Mueller. A few, like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), warned that moving to terminate the special counsel would represent a “red line” and could even represent the “end” of Trump’s presidency. No Republican, however, called for a vote on long-stalled legislation meant to shield Mueller from firing. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a co-author of one such bill, tweeted Monday that the special counsel ought to be able to “continue his investigation unimpeded.” Republican leaders, meanwhile, said they had no plans to intervene because they did not believe Trump would act against Mueller despite a slew of recent personnel shake-ups among government agencies and the firing of Andrew McCabe, who served as the Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Friday. “I have urged the White House in public and private to allow Mueller to continue his investigation uninterrupted,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the Senate president pro tempore, said in a statement on Monday. “I know Mueller well and believe him to be a straight shooter, and I continue to believe that giving Mueller the time and support necessary to get to the bottom of things is in the best interest of all parties involved.” “My conversations with the White House have led me to believe legislation is not necessary at this point because I do not believe the president would take such a foolish action,” Hatch added in the statement. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) was similarly dismissive of the possibility that Trump could fire Mueller, telling reporters on Monday he did not think the president would do so because “the consequences would be so overwhelming.” “I don’t see the necessity of picking that fight right now,” Cornyn added. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) views lined up with Republicans’ on Monday. She told reporters that she didn’t think special protections were necessary since firing Mueller was so obviously a bad move, per The Washington Post’s Karoun Demirjian. It’s not hard to envision Trump taking his attacks against Mueller to another level, however. The president has a reputation for impulsiveness, and on Monday the White House added a lawyer to its team who has pushed the theory on television that the FBI and Justice Department framed Trump. Trump also surprised many members of his party earlier this month by announcing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports ― policies that have historically been opposed by free-trade conservatives. Many Republicans on Capitol Hill were unaware of the details surrounding the policy until after it was announced by Trump at the White House. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman wrote over the weekend on Twitter that the president was “testing” lawmakers with his attacks on Mueller.

Since mid-2017, “Trump Terrible 10” has counted down the week’s 10 most disgraceful figures in the Trump administration. This week, we can't even. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10. Donald J. Trump, President of the United States. Trump is a dishonest, crooked, corrupt, kleptocratic, childish, bigoted, misogynist, racist horror. His weak, reckless incompetence endangers our national security, even as his blatant unwillingness to disavow the American Nazi, Klan, and alt-right movements gravely insults the memory of Heather Heyer and everyone else who has ever struggled for justice. Trump is again number one — the most disgraceful figure in the Trump administration — in the Trump Terrible 10. Trump is not merely a disgrace; he’s a total and complete disgrace. Vintage disgracefulness:

“The past isn’t dead; it isn’t even past.” I wish that I had penned those words, but they belong to the Nobel Laureate, William Faulkner. I will, however, use them to administer proper weight to the notion that we are the sum of all that has come before us. From this, we cannot hide. Although sometimes, when it serves our purpose, we try with all our might. When Colin Kaepernick took the knee for the first time during the National Anthem, he did so to bring attention to, in his mind, an epidemic of police brutality. I believe he knew that although it was a peaceful attempt at protest, it was indeed a quiet riot destined to be met by a legion of misunderstanding. A hurricane of hatred and bigotry. A history driven need not to see the forest for the trees. Now, the knee seems to have nothing to do with the death of Philando Castile and others. Now, much of white America is screaming that Kaepernick and those who have followed his lead are unpatriotic. That they are spoiled, rich, black men who are disrespectful of an anthem, which if read in its entirety, spins a sinister rhyme scheme of black slavery, black death and white supremacy. “No refuge could save the hireling and slave, from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave. And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave…” Now, much of white America is demanding that a wave of African-American bended knees recant and stand for the flag that has provided them with the care free lives that they now enjoy. Demanding that they stand in recognition of the men and women of the American military who have sacrificed for them. On NBC’s Meet The Press, Rich Lowry of The National Review, lectured African-American journalist Stephen Henderson. “People have died under that flag,” he said before adding. “You can have opinions about policing and what not, but don’t disrespect the flag.” Yet, I wonder. Will Lowry and his like muster an iota of respect for the lives of black men who have died under the flag, choked and shot to death on camera. Lives that should not be reduced to what nots. How can he and others stand in front of African-Americans and demand anything from them with regard to the flag of the United States of America? Black Americans who have sacrificed as much as any other race in this nation, including a legacy of doing so for centuries while laboring in brutal bondage. Can you not recognize this sacrifice? Lest it be forgotten, let us remember who sacrificed first. Crispus Attucks, a black man was the first to die as the American Revolution began. The first martyr to American freedom. And African-Americans have fought and died in every war since. Because there are movies to prove it, maybe you will remember the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment which suffered a casualty rate of forty percent, wounded, missing or killed as they assaulted Fort Wagner during the Civil War. Or the Tuskegee Airmen, who had to vigorously lobby to assume their right to fly in defense of their own country. They knew sacrifice. I have not served in the military, but military service is well represented on both sides of my family, including my father. My family members served with distinction and returned home, suffering from wounds of the body and mind. Wounds acquired as members of the United States Army, the United States Marines, the Coast Guard and the United States Navy. What many whites should know, or should remember, if they choose not to hide from our history, is what sacrifice actually earned African-American veterans. It earned them a society which, under the American flag, rejected their service. As The Equal Justice Initiative states, “No one was more at risk of experiencing violence and targeted racial terror than black veterans who had proven their valor and courage as soldiers during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Because of their military service, black veterans were seen as a particular threat to Jim Crow and racial subordination. Thousands of black veterans were assaulted, threatened, abused, or lynched following military service.” Sacrifice that earned the charred, chained and mutilated bodies of black civilians as well. Sacrifice that earned a society represented by the United States flag, under which those men who served their country bravely, were not allowed to march alongside white soldiers in victory parades. Those men who came home to states and towns where they couldn’t vote, where they had to use colored only bathrooms and sit in the back of the bus. Where they suffered from discrimination in housing and from universities. Where their children received a separate but unequal education. Remember, when it served your purpose, you refused African-Americans the honor of being respected by or showing respect for the flag. Now, when it serves your purpose, you demand we stand up and without acknowledging our history, pay homage to a flag that took its time recognizing that we were even Americans. Sorry to disappoint. Even today, Colin Kaepernick wants you to know that African-Americans lag behind in income, home ownership and quality healthcare. African-American school children perform at substantially lower levels than the national average. And 12-year old black boys, like Tamir Rice, playing with toys are shot dead by police officers even as we remember a murdered 14-year-old named Emmett Till, about whom, Mr. Faulkner had this to say. “If we in America have reached the point in our desperate culture when we must murder children, no matter for what reason or what color, then we don’t deserve to survive, and probably won’t.” When I was young, I saw a picture. In it, hundreds of Ku Klux Klansmen marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC without shame, their faces exposed. Almost every Klansman carried The Stars and Stripes, Red, White and Blue, Old Glory, The American Flag, The Star-Spangled Banner. In the background, the grand dome of the United States Capitol, rose into the sky. Years later, when I first heard the phrase “state sponsored terrorism”, this is the picture that filled my mind.

In the past couple of weeks I was at a retreat (sans computer or iPhone) and then it was Christmas and my usual unrestricted work flow turned quite stagnant, except for the immediate things. I noticed my email inbox had more than ten emails that I had already seen and intended to handle that day. Over the next few days that ten grew to two screens of opened unhandled emails. I had a real kink in the works. The rebel in me loved this "time off" and had no desire to work out the kinks. Essentially I went on strike or, more accurately, I chose to be unconscious. The responsible, cooperative part of me could only handle it for so long and yesterday shouted, "enough already, I can't breathe. Do something PLEASE!" That got my attention and I tackled the kinks one email a time through to completion. With the inbox emptied, I felt my breath relax, my energy increase and I was in cooperation with what still needed to be completed. To me, kinks are part of the process and we are to continue practicing opening the flow. I am honestly grateful when I choose to let go of my personal resistance and just handle the kinks letting myself and my systems breathe and come back into the balance of their natural flow. Be kind to yourself when kinks are constricting, restricting and blocking your flow. Trust yourself to know when you no longer have the luxury of those kinks and do what needs doing. Martha Invitations 1. Take time to complete 2016. Touch all file folders, electronic and physical, toss what is not in active use, clean up kinks in your systems and make room for the new. [Call or email me to schedule phone or in person support ] 2. Pick up anything stacked or hidden in briefcases or stickies by phones etc. and gather them to your inbox to deal with one at a time. 3. Ask yourself where the kinks are in your system and take the first step. 4. If there is a kink in any incomplete communications do what it takes to keep those channels clear with everyone. Martha

Getting your start in house flipping can be exciting, but it can also be quite daunting. Flipping a house takes a significant investment of time and capital, and with housing markets acting as unpredictable as they are, there’s real risk involved. For those looking to be successful at it, it pays to see what techniques and tactics make other flippers good at what they do. In that spirit, here are five tips from expert house flippers that will help your flips be more profitable. Be a Smart Buyer When looking to buy a property, there are three things to consider: what you will pay for it, what it takes to fix it, and what you can get out of it. You make most of your profit by choosing a property that you can buy at a low price. Buying a property that’s close to the market value of other homes in the neighborhood means you don’t have much room to make a profit. Likewise, buying a property at $50,000 and then spending $100,000 on rehab isn’t likely to leave you a very wide profit margin. Lastly, you need to be aware of the surrounding area; depreciating home values or a poor market will make it hard to sell at the price you want. If people don’t want to live there, they won’t be interested in your property no matter how nice it looks. So don’t go for properties in difficult markets just because they’re cheap. Estimate, Budget, Execute Flipping houses is a numbers game, so you need to be accurate with your math. Put together accurate estimates for what it’s going to cost to rehab the property, including some buffer for incidentals or surprise costs. Once you have a detailed plan for what you’ll be fixing and how much you’ll pay for it, stick to your budget. Deviating from the plan rarely ever saves you money, and often doesn’t earn you more when you sell. Once you have solid estimates and a detailed budget, it’s time to go to work. Do the work that you know how to do, and that can be done quickly. Anything that’s too technical or that would take too long to do yourself will be better off in the hands of professionals who are equipped to do the work, so don’t be afraid to hire someone to do the electrical, or to handle 1000 square feet of sheetrock. Build a Reliable Team Speaking of hiring people, you’ll need a team to pull this off. This includes the real estate agent who will help you find the property, the contractor who will help you rehab it, and so forth. You’re not going to know how to do everything. If there’s any task you can’t teach yourself to do then be prepared to bring someone on. It’s better to have someone help you make accurate estimates, for example, than to try to estimate it yourself and be off by thousands of dollars. Besides, if you build the right team, they will be around to help you on future flips, and the process will get more fluid as you practice. Design Smart Remember, you’re not going to live in this house, someone else is. Save all the quirky design ideas for your own home, and design the property to have a broader appeal. Don’t paint the kitchen purple, and don’t use fluorescent green tile in the bathroom. Use tried and true design standards so that your property is attractive to the widest possible market. You don’t want buyers turning around because you installed bright blue cabinets in the kitchen. Don’t Overdo They say “a job worth doing is worth doing well,” but that’s not always true for flips. There’s a threshold of investment beyond which your returns don’t match the capital you put in. There’s no sense in spending an extra $15,000 to replace the cabinets in the kitchen, when buyers are only going to pay an extra $5,000 for it. Know when “good enough” is good enough, and call it a day.

A Michigan student didn’t miss an opportunity to make a statement when Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited their school this week. Eighth-grader Torin Hodgman wore a transgender pride flag as a cape during DeVos’ Tuesday appearance at the Grand Rapids Public Museum School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The 14-year-old Hodgman, who identifies as genderqueer and prefers the pronouns “they” and “their,” can be seen walking alongside DeVos in the above MLive video. DeVos interacted with students, who presented a series of science and environmental projects. She did not appear to acknowledge Hodgman’s ensemble. Hodgman said they had planned to ask DeVos about school safety for LGBTQ youths during a morning roundtable. While they didn’t get a chance to do that, Hodgman hopes she recognized the flag. “Public schools are a place for all children,” Hodgman told MLive. The student’s concerns are certainly justified. About a month into President Donald Trump’s tenure, the Department of Justice and Department of Education rescinded Obama-era guidance that schools should allow trans students to use bathrooms, locker rooms and other school facilities that align with their gender identity.

To be one’s true self is the goal in life. This blog series would not exist if it weren’t for a reunion with an old friend who had all the makings of a modern-day Mozart. But at a pivotal fork in the road, he chose the path behind a desk, instead of one behind a keyboard, which would’ve honored his gift - like Mozart did. Now, 20 years later, he’s unrecognizable, this friend who once had music radiating from every cell, especially when singing in random bursts of happiness. The years have taken their toll - not just in the added 20 pounds that don’t belong, but in the heaviness that comes when living someone else’s life, and not one’s true purpose. The life you came here to live. As a writer, this inspired me to highlight the special souls who chose to follow their true path. The tougher path, but one that honors and expresses the powerful gift of music they’ve been given. To live the Mozart life. May some of their words help or inspire you to find your true calling in life. After a quarter of a century, Paul Young is back touring the U.S. this summer in the 1980s driven Retro Futura Tour with Howard Jones, Men Without Hats, English Beat, Modern English, and Katrina sans the Waves. Although his hit “Everytime You Go Away” is still on regular rotation on SiriusXM and regular radio, for U.S. fans who’ve missed him all these years, this tour, which ends Aug. 19, is a chance to see him back live on stage. It was a thrill to have a chat with Paul about what he’s been up to, that once-in-a-lifetime 1985 event Live Aid, Otis Redding, and what success means to him. What have you been up to since we last saw you years ago? And what made you come back to tour here now? It didn’t seem to be happening just after the ‘90s, whereas I was still on the radio regularly throughout Europe, and I continued to have hits with a song called “Otis Blue” and then another called “Senza una donna with Italian singer Zucchero. So it was still a very healthy market for me and I just concentrated on that. Putting an album out last year, even though albums sales are nothing to get excited about these days, just the process of putting an album out, puts you kind of back on the map and makes people aware of you again, so I started doing some concerts last year. The last 20 years I’ve been doing just occasional concerts, no real tour. More stuff in Europe and going to Australia the end of this year, so I thought, “All right, it’s time.” And looked at America again and came back. We’re using this tour, hopefully, as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. I saw you at the Greek on this tour and loved it. I realized you sang three songs and would have wanted to hear you sing more and I could tell the audience wanted to sing along with you and we all just jumped in. Yeah, it’s a shame the Greek was the first date of the tour because we were hoping it would be a little more slick by the time we got to L.A. We were a little bit under rehearsed because I was originally told I was on for 30 minutes and then everything got chopped. When you sang “Come Back and Stay” and it was still light out, it took me back to Live Aid because of the way you held the microphone singing. As a big Live Aid fan, I still get chills from those clips, your segment. Was that a top memory for? It will never happen again in music. It was once in a lifetime, we all experienced it. It was. It was definitely a once in a lifetime thing. I look back and think, ’m so lucky my success came in that era.” It was the era when British music really went worldwide and then all these things are happening for the first time. There’ll never be a concert that big again, I don’t think there’ll ever be a concert that goes out to 6 billion people. This tour was such a great concert, I was on a high the next day, I wish you would do more in the U.S. Yeah, the whole idea of this tour was to hopefully get back in the door again. I love working live, I think I put on a good show and people would like to see it. It’d be great to also introduce some of the songs that were hits in Europe and perform them here and make people aware of them. I go through a lot of musical styles on my albums and sometimes the singles don’t correspond to what radio wants to hear. I didn’t know “Everytime You go Away” was a Hall and Oates song because it’s so synonymous to you. Do you believe that some songs are just meant to be sung by certain people and inhabited by certain singers? Everyone has their gifts, and it just was a great click for you - that song. I do believe so. Ever since the Beatles, music fans tend to think that everybody should be, if you’re an artist, you should write and sing. But then, I don’t live in that dream any way. Some of my favorite artists are Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Ry Cooder, Leon Redbone. All these people where they write some material and they cover other material. So, really, that gives me double the amount of choice. My world is opened up a lot more to material that I find. And also I think there’s a skill in interpretation. You may be the greatest script writer in the world, but if you’re going to write a play in the ‘60s, you want Richard Burton to be one of the characters because his delivery was amazing. The greatest script writer in the world can’t necessarily act and in the same way, the greatest songwriter in the world can’t necessarily deliver the song in the way that someone else can. So that’s what Tin Pan Alley was there for. Does that mean that you write some of your own songs as well? Yeah I do. I don’t write singles, I don’t write pop, but there were two records that came out that weren’t big hits in the U.S., but they were in Europe. Two of my singles. I write about 50 percent of every album that I do. How do you find inspiration for the music? Is there somewhere deep within where the inspiration comes from? It’s said that’s when we’re most connected to our true selves. What’s your take on that? People say “What is it about a song that affects you?” I say, “It’s different for every song.” Sometimes it can be a chord progression that I think it so sweet, or it can be the depth of the lyric of the whole song. I don’t like to go over complicated songs, where there’s lots of chords because but then it’s difficult to change it, it’s difficult to interpret. Sometimes you can’t simplify a song, but it’s much easier if it’s only got about three, four, or five chords in it and then you can do your own thing around that and generally, if u look at the songs I’ve covered, the first thing I do is take it outside the comfort zone of what the original version was. “Love of the Common People” was a reggae song and the only way I could get my head out of hearing it as a reggae song, was to create a pulse that went all the way through the song. Then I didn’t think of it like a reggae song. It was only actually about five years later that I found out it was actually a country song. (laughs) Do you have a daily musical process? Do you something for your vocal chords, because that’s your instrument. No, I don’t. I really hope that I never to have all these hang ups. I want to be able to be a free man as it were. If I find that too much dairy affects my voice, I suppose I have to cut it out eventually, but I’m very lucky. I do everything within the realms of safety, so I don’t smoke anymore, but I do still drink, I do still have coffee, which some people say you can’t have it. When did you know you had this gift of music and how did it manifest for you? How did you start to do the human discipline it takes to channel your gift, hone it and bring it forth? I was always undecided what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to do music, so I faffed around on the bass guitar for a while. So I played the bass for a while, but I always had my eye on the microphone stand in the front, even when I was playing bass. So I convince the first band I was in to let me do a couple of songs in the middle of the set. And then they got to quite like it, then they let me do three or four in the middle of the set, which, I guess the lead singer wasn’t too happy about (laughs). And then I thought, “This is what really feels comfortable to me.” So I eventually took the lead role of singer, and I was still feeling my way in terms of style, my own personal style, but then I put a soul band together, which was supposed to just be a brief thing. We stayed together for about three or four years. So I really got my head around American soul music. I loved Otis Redding and Joe Tex, all these artists. The more I got into it, I discovered all these others like Johnnie Taylor, James Carr, William Bell, who’s got a great voice. That’s what really influenced me, and when I came out of that soul band, I thought, “Well, we didn’t get any radio success.” We got a lot of radio support, but no sales to speak of, yet everyone came to the concert and loved the concert. I thought, “Well, something’s got to change, so it won’t be me. I’ll sing the same as I’ve always sung, but I’m going to change everything else that goes around my voice.” That was the only proviso for my first solo album, but it seemed to work. There are divine moments of serendipity, when a catalyst opens the door that leads to the path we’re meant to be on, the one where we live out the fullest expression of our true self. What was that moment for you and how did it happen, would that have been the band? Yeah, I think I discovered myself while I was in the Q-Tips. One thing I didn’t say about when I was a teenager is, I did feel that even though I wasn’t a great musician, I still felt that I knew what made a good record. When you’re a young kid and you cover someone else song, I’d say to the guitar player, ‘You’re playing the wrong thing there.” They’d go, “No, this is how it goes.” I’d argue the point and I knew I was right. The one thing I did feel that I had, was a good ear for what makes a good record. Through the Q-Tips, that really built my self confidence as being a stage performer. When I was a child I had a stutter, so I really had to fight to get rid of that. If I’m tired it does come back. That was another reason for me to discover music, because you sing to a beat, so then you don’t stutter. Also, it did wonders for my confidence. But then as I started to record my first solo album, I was going against everything the record company was saying (laughs). But I just had this incredible belief that I was doing the right thing. And if it wasn’t successful, I knew I was going to make a damn good record. What inspired this blog series was seeing an old friend who has a special gift of music, but didn’t choose that path, who, 20 years later, isn’t living the life he thought he would live. People who make music and get to travel the world doing so are a rare example of a life where one is able to honor and channel their gift of music. What are your thoughts? And do you feel you’re consciously living the life you thought you would be living? It’s way beyond the life I thought I’d be living. I didn’t see success outside the U.K. because I had quite an insular view. I could only see the success that was going on in the British charts. That was my dream. But then obviously, it went way, way beyond that and went worldwide. I almost give thanks everyday, because I wake up, I’m on a tour bus, I’m on a plane. I’m going places my mother and father have never been. I think I’m a very lucky guy. And it made my brother and sister, it inspires them. My sister and her husband came out to America, they decided to follow their dream a bit. They work hard, so they spent their money, they hired a Mustang, drove around California. They loved every minute of it. But they probably never would’ve thought of it, but for the fact that I kept going on about how great it is, the Pacific Coast Highway and all of that. (laughs) I’ve said in that blog post about living the Mozart life, that it may be a tougher road to choose, but you’re fully living your true selves. Do you resonate to that? You didn’t choose the 9 to 5 path. To embark on it, was that difficult? You didn’t know you’d get here. I didn’t know if I’d get there. It’s one of those things, I can’t imagine living a 9 to 5 life now because my life is different everyday and that’s one that my eldest daughter, she’s having a lot of success at the moment. She’s building a business in the U.K. She’s been doing it for about three years. It’s an internet-led business, but it’s got a stock market worth of $4 million now. But she says, “I have to get up and go in the office everyday. You wake up in the morning and go, ‘Great, I’ve got a gig.’ You’re doing what you really love.” So she reminds me to be thankful as well. How did you know that this is your life path, your calling? How does someone know when they’re on the correct path? I wasn’t following a path, it was taking me where I was going to go. Once I started the path, it was just, “Where is it taking me now? I don’t know, I’m just keep going forward.” Billy Connolly said to me years ago, “Never look back because you can’t change anything. Get to the bow of the ship and look forward all the time.” What’s your idea of success on the path you chose? I never wanted incredible success. I looked at Bruce Springsteen’s success and I thought, “I don’t think I’m quite built to be that successful.” So I’m just happy that I am where I am. I’m not as successful at the moment, but I’m happy about that because now I’ve got to work harder and it’s a rediscovery. As long as I’m earning money and putting my children through good schools, I think in the music business these days, it’s so hard to have any kind of longevity, that every time I’ve had another year in this business I’m grateful. Life gives us catalysts, a release valve, which often is our lowest point in life, that allows us to push up to the next, hopefully better chapter, like a desert, wilderness period in life, that helps raise our consciousness. What was the lowest point that helped push you further to evolve and what did you do when you had that epiphany? And that’s what I’ve kind of had. I’ve had that. I still don’t know what a Paul Young album is, because I’ve put so much diversity into each album, it’s difficult. Like at the moment, I’ve got a Tex Mex band called Los Pacaminos. When I go to make the next album with Los Pacaminos, I know what it’s got to sound within a certain set of criteria, I never know what a Paul Young album is supposed to sound like, because with each decade, or even few years, so much as changed in the music business that I think, “Where do I fit in this?” And that’s what’s always been hard for me. Leading up to making this last album, the problem was I didn’t know what Paul Young album was and then one day Arthur Baker got in touch with me with his thoughts about putting an artist with a publishing house. And he said, “So I would put you with a publishing house that’s got as many soul songs as possible.” I thought, “This is probably the best thing I could do because until I know what a Paul Young album should be in this decade, I’m probably better off just getting back to my roots and finding some rare soul grooves and doing those songs” and that’s exactly what I did. And it has kind of put me back on the path. Have you done an Otis Redding album? That sounds like it’s right up your alley.

Marriages don’t deteriorate overnight. There’s often a gradual decline, sometimes over years or decades, that leads to an eventual breaking point and makes divorce inevitable. We asked now-divorced men to reveal the moment that signaled their marriages were finally over for good. Here’s what they said: 1. When my son mentioned ‘mommy’s new friend.’ “I should have known it was over when she said at dinner that she didn’t know whether she loved me anymore. I should have known it after 18 months of sleeping in separate bedrooms. I should have known it when she stopped demonstrating any positive or negative emotions toward me. I should have known it after spending a holiday weekend with our young son on a road trip that she declined to take with us. I should have known it after I saw her missing wedding ring upon returning home from that trip. I should have known it when she moved out the next day, driving away with our little boy in the back seat. But I didn’t. Still, I hoped. And then, two weeks later, my son innocently mentioned a dog and some little girls he had been playing with. They belonged to ‘mommy’s new friend.’ ‘Did you have a sleepover at mommy’s new friend’s house?’ ‘Yes.’ I never knew a one-word answer from a child could be so lethal and life-changing. I thought I might die, right then. That’s when I knew.” ― Matthew 2. When she said ‘I hate you’ and meant it. “Like the end of most marriages, mine included a lot of dominoes tipping into the next, but there always seems to be that first domino that starts the process. My ex-wife made arguing an Olympic sport. During one fight over something I can’t even recall, she looked at me red-faced and yelled, ’I hate you,’ and I knew she meant it. There is no coming back from that four-letter word.” ― Bill 3. When I realized sleeping in the guest room was better than sleeping next to my wife. “One typical winter day I came down with some horrible sickness and quarantined myself in the guest bedroom to avoid spreading my plague to my wife. After I recovered, I realized I preferred staying in the guest room. I am still a strong believer in the fact that most people sleep better alone, but it does create a literal separation between the couple. Then I started noticing other differences and changes in us as individuals and in our marriage. But if I had to pinpoint one moment, it’s the moment I quarantined our marriage. We both survived and are thriving; however, our marriage stayed in quarantine and didn’t make it out.” ― Adam 4. When her dream house was more like a nightmare to me. “After we sold our first home, we were looking for new houses. I had a couple that I really liked, but she was stuck on this one house and kept coming back to it. I hated that house. It was hideous inside, untouched since 1978 (ugh, that wallpaper!), not in the town I wanted to live in and nothing about it tempted me. When we walked in the front door for a showing, I watched her face light up like I hadn’t seen in years. She walked around wide-eyed from room to room, and in the face of all the horrible decor and issues with disrepair she told me it felt like her ‘forever home.’ I put aside my own wants and we made an offer the same day. Now, I had always been a subscriber to the ‘happy wife, happy life’ mantra, but this was different. In some sad and serene part of me, I knew I wasn’t going to be in that house forever ― but I wanted her to have it. For her. It was at that moment that I knew that I still loved her but that it was done. I spent the next year remodeling that house on nights and weekends, and roughly about when it was done we split. She still has the house, and I’m happy for that.” ― Billy 5. When I refused to deal with my own underlying anxieties about commitment. “When I look back at my marriage a dozen years after divorce, trying to define what exactly went wrong, my hindsight doesn’t stop anywhere within the previous dozen years that I was married. It inevitably goes back further, to all those years of early adulthood when I realized my anxiety about forming deep relationships with anyone, let alone potential spouses. Instead of examining that and getting help to deal with the issues that kept me from forming real connections with people, I blame them instead. As a result, when it came to forge a real commitment, I just didn’t have the tools to ultimately be successful at it. If divorce has taught me anything, it’s that the seeds for it are growing within us long before we ever meet our potential life partner. And it’s up to us to eliminate that crop before even trying to cultivate a relationship.” ― Craig 6. When my wife’s divorced friends convinced her we were doomed. “When my wife spent most of her free time with other divorced women. She had already moved into the guest bedroom and was disengaged at counseling, but the real force pulling her away was her ‘friends’ telling her it was ‘her turn.’ There’s an old saying: ‘Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.’” ― Bill 7. When I didn’t care enough to try anymore. “While it didn’t feel altogether different that time, the weeks leading up to my divorce were more strained and frustrating than in times we had fought before. As I look back on it now, however, I realize that even I had given up. I was no longer trying. What had once been a challenge for us to overcome together became a battle for us to fight independent of one another. That realization hit me pretty hard that night, as I lay in bed just a few hours after she asked to take a break. By the time she revealed she wanted a divorce, just a day and a half later, I had already recognized that this was it, we were done. I was done. It hurt, but I didn’t care anymore.” ― Derick 8. When we realized we hadn’t liked each other in years. “I was a complete mess. I cannot speak for my ex-wife. But for me, I was simply not in a good place in my life and had long since lost my identity. I was so spent from trying to figure things out in a career that doesn’t tolerate mistakes. Slowly, trapped in an isolating mindset, failures became my only confidants. Failures and self-loathing became my past time and closest friends. And over time, a person as messed up as I was simply cannot love anyone correctly. I’ve made my peace with the fact that when we internally dislike ourselves at such deep levels, we are in no place to love anyone else. We simply keep trying to fill the hole in our souls in the hopes we won’t feel as damaged as we know we are. In the end, my ex and I simply stopped trying to love or even hate each other. All emotions were simply no longer accessible. We began to realize that the last time we liked each other was well before marriage and even dating. Long before all that, we were just really good friends.” ― Michael 9. When I justified her bad behavior. “The first time I brought up the fact that our relationship wasn’t going to work, she broke my headphones. I think, deep down inside, I knew the relationship wouldn’t last early on. She would lose her temper quickly, become increasingly paranoid and jealous and yell a lot. I kept justifying anything bad that happened. I had no escape, at least that’s how it felt at the time. I was afraid to leave for fear of being hurt or stalked or humiliated in front of peers.” ― Tom 10. When I realized we weren’t even fighting, we were just avoiding each other. “It was a long series of events, and decisions that slowly led to the final demise: when we stopped holding hands in public, when we no longer did date nights together, when we started to confide in others rather than our spouse, when we started to feel like the other person was an obstacle to our happiness rather than an advocate for it. Unlike a lot of couples, we never fought. We just gradually learned to avoid each other, and little by little, it led to a decision to end it. By the time I really saw the signs, and understood what they meant, it felt like it was already too late.” ― Gerald Note: Respondents’ last names were withheld to protect their privacy and the privacy of their families. Some responses have been lightly edited or condensed for clarity.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions sparked the ire of LGBTQ rights advocates Friday after issuing new guidance giving religious groups and individuals broad protections in cases when their faith conflicts with federal regulations. In a memorandum titled “Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty,” Sessions detailed 20 principles regarding the implications of religious freedom on the U.S. government, The Washington Post reported. In a troubling, if unsurprising, move, the memorandum included language indicating that religious employers should be allowed to hire only those whose conduct is consistent with their faith. “Except in the narrowest of circumstances, no one should be forced to choose between living out his or her faith and complying with the law,” the attorney general wrote, according to USA Today. “To the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, religious observance and practice should be reasonably accommodated in all government action, including employment, contracting and programming.” The news sparked immediate backlash from a number of queer rights organizations, many of which deemed the directive a “license to discriminate.” Among them was GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, who expressed her disapproval in a series of tweets Friday afternoon. This Administration has proved it will do anything possible to categorize LGBTQ Americans as second-class citizens. https://t.co/6jDXmecaOi — Sarah Kate Ellis (@sarahkateellis) October 6, 2017 Freedom of religion is paramount to our nation’s success, but does not give people the right to discriminate. — Sarah Kate Ellis (@sarahkateellis) October 6, 2017 I would never use my faith to justify harm and discrimination to others like this administration wants to allow people to do to me. — Sarah Kate Ellis (@sarahkateellis) October 6, 2017 Echoing those sentiments was Human Rights Campaign Chad Griffin, who called Sessions’ move “unconscionable.” Trump-Pence launching all-out assault on LGBTQ people, women, other minorities. Impact will be devastating. https://t.co/yS0T6HHpNu — Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) October 6, 2017 We all must fight this blatant attempt to further Trump's cynical and hateful agenda. Constitution gives no one the right to discriminate. pic.twitter.com/q4owgnINDL — Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) October 6, 2017 National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey felt similarly, arguing that the guidance would “cause immeasurable harm to millions of people,” while American Civil Liberties Union Deputy Legal Director Louise Melling stated Sessions’ directive “isn’t consistent with religious freedom.” The Southern Poverty Law Center went a step further, vowing to “resist this guidance and all that it stands for” moving forward. “As with so many of the Trump administration’s actions, this guidance is intended to and will encourage federal agencies to ignore the rights of vulnerable communities,” SPLC’s Deputy Legal Director David Dinielli wrote in an email statement. “But this administration cannot turn our collective hearts against our fellow Americans.”

The quest to end homelessness in Los Angeles County has never looked more promising, thanks to the generosity and compassion of voters who passed Measure H. Still, with almost 58,000 people homeless on any given night – more than enough to fill every seat at Dodger Stadium – it is clear that even with these newfound resources, we need to continue thinking outside the box. This month, we are doing just that, by ramping up an initiative called Just In Reach through an innovative financing model that taps private capital to serve the public interest. Under this arrangement, the County can scale up promising new approaches to addressing homelessness, without immediately taking on financial risk. If the initiative’s goals are met, investors can get their money back, plus interest. It is a new kind of public-private partnership that fills an urgent need in society while ensuring accountability. Chronically homeless individuals with severe mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders tend to stretch the limits of the County’s social safety net and criminal justice system. To emphasize alternatives to incarceration whenever possible, we created the County Office of Diversion and Reentry. Meanwhile, the County Department of Health Services launched Housing for Health, which has already placed 3,500 individuals in permanent supportive housing and kept 96 percent of them from returning to life on the streets for at least a year. Just In Reach will build on the successes of both programs. Using $10 million from private investors, in addition to other funding, the County will place 300 chronically homeless individuals into permanent supportive housing over the next four years. Through this initiative, they can get the help they need to attain a measure of physical health, mental stability, and sobriety, which should reduce or eliminate their need for costly crisis interventions such as visits to County hospital emergency rooms and stints in County jail. A 2013 Economic Roundtable report estimated that taxpayers spend an average of $64,000 annually on each homeless individual who is a particularly intensive user of public services. Compare that to only $17,000 per person per year on permanent supportive housing, which can include intensive case management, healthcare, mental health and substance abuse disorder treatments, and other services. The Office of Diversion and Reentry will manage Just In Reach, in partnership with the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. The Sheriff’s Department and other County agencies will provide support, while the RAND Corporation will handle performance evaluations. If Just In Reach meets performance benchmarks, such as keeping individuals in stable housing for at least a year, its private investors could earn a combined total of $1.5 million in interest. UnitedHealth Group, a health and wellbeing company that serves more than 3.7 million people in California, put $7 million into the initiative. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, a regional leader in private philanthropy to end chronic homelessness, invested $3 million. It is wrong that our County jails have become de facto mental hospitals, conscripted to fill the void created by a 1950s social experiment called psychiatric deinstitutionalization that shut down state asylums. Jails are for holding those who have committed serious offenses, not for treating chronically homeless individuals with mental illnesses and/or substance abuse disorders. Our County hospital emergency rooms, already at capacity, are not the proper place for this population either. Just In Reach shows what can be accomplished when the best concepts and practices from the public and private sectors are merged and magnified. We need more creative solutions like it if we are to have real impact in fight homelessness, the defining civic issue of our time.

Cammie McGovern knows a lot about autistic children. As she explains in the Author's Note, she has an autistic son. She also knows a lot about children and their dogs. She had a dog, Buddy, who was her son's companion. Although Buddy wasn't a trained service dog, he and her son had a special connection, and that was the basis for her new brilliant novel, "Chester and Gus." "Chester and Gus" is about Chester, a dog whose fear of loud noises flunked him out of "service dog school." His trainer, Penny, noticed Chester's brilliance, his ability to learn commands and vocabulary words, his willingness to please. She had high hopes for him and was devastated when he was basically sold to a family who wanted Chester as a companion for their autistic son. Gus is the autistic son who cannot communicate much and cannot interact with others, and who has difficulty getting through the day without having a tantrum. He seems isolated in his own world, and as much as his parents try to get through to him, they rarely feel successful. Chester, at first, doesn't feel successful either. But occasionally, Chester finds -- to his surprise -- that he and Gus can almost magically communicate without actually talking. Each can hear what the other is thinking. This is sporadic, but it really happens. And when it does, it's almost magical. Chester finds that he grows to love Gus, and he wants more than anything to help Gus. He notices more about Gus than almost anyone. And because Chester is narrating the story, the reader gets to learn and understand what Chester does. Like real life, the bond between Chester and Gus develops over time, not smoothly but rather with definite ups and downs. Sometimes Chester understands Gus perfectly and they are able to "talk," but at other times, Chester must try to figure out what is going on in Gus's mind. It's apparent that McGovern has carefully researched the subject of service dogs, therapy dogs, and dogs who are trained to detect seizures. She also has researched the ability of dogs to learn as many as a thousand words and be able to make inferences. Chaser, the famous border collie, was able to infer the name of a new toy when it was mixed with other toys for which Chaser had learned the names (see video). So while the ability of Chester to communicate with Gus is definitely part of the magic of the story, his ability to make inferences and know hundreds of words is not. It's a reality with intelligent dogs. I think that McGovern has done what all dog lovers do -- she has looked into the eyes of a dog she loved and desperately wished that she knew what the dog wanted to say to her. And in this story, she has been able to make that wish a reality. A beautiful reality. This book would be a great choice for any middle grade readers, but especially for use as a classroom read aloud. There is much discussion that a teacher could pull from the story about students who are different, dogs who help people, acts of kindness, and compassion, and even adopting from a shelter. I also really love the fact that McGovern writes about shelters as the places to adopt a perfect companion -- because that's very true and very important. Everyone should have their own "Chester," and it only takes a visit to the shelter and some training. Please note: This review is based on the final hardcover book provided by the publisher, Harper, for review purposes.

I chose to breastfeed my baby. I wanted to. As a first-time mom, I thought it would be a fantastic experience. My darling girl latched on immediately after I gave birth. That sensation was both startling and a huge relief. Okay, it’s happening, it’s working — I’m doing it! I had skimmed through some books on breastfeeding in my ninth month but as I wrote in one of my previous blogs, I was less than studious when it came to preparation. That night in the hospital after the birth was an exhausting reality check. They didn’t take my baby away so I could pleasantly rest my weary head on a soft pillow until I was refreshed. Nope. I was on call — and breastfeeding was literally the only thing on the menu. A hospital nurse came in that night and checked multiple times to make sure my daughter was latched on correctly and that satisfactory poop was coming out the other end. I had to write on a chart what time I fed my child, for how long, as well as what color and consistency her poop was. This breastfeeding thing was tiring. I slept maybe 20 minutes at a time — but I was utterly determined. In the beginning, feeding my baby seemed to go pretty well. Once I left the hospital and went home, the whole breastfeeding experience felt as though it was a success. At my daughter’s two-week check-up she was doing great. Her weight was good. But after that initial first check up I noticed that my daughter was crying a lot and became extremely fussy. Was it colic? Maybe. Was she hungry again?? Maybe. Gassy? Could be. I kept breastfeeding and checking her poop obsessively. I finally started referring to all those breastfeeding books I had neglected while pregnant. Was the poop supposed to be green and if so what shade of green? What if it was yellow? Hard or soft? Over a few days, my daughter grew increasingly thin. She was long and lean to begin with and I had read on the internet that most breastfed babies are thinner than formula-fed babies. Or were they? Sure, I had read that but as everyone knows, when you’re dramatically sleep-deprived and worried, the internet is not always the best place for answers. I fed my baby constantly. I was pumping too and desperately trying to get a few ounces at a time into bags to freeze. I kept reading about how other moms were overflowing with breast milk and practically pumping full bottles. Was I a breastfeeding under-achiever? Should I supplement? I had been under the impression that formula was the enemy in the realm of breastfeeding and that if I started to supplement with formula my own natural supply of milk would decrease. Being that I was already struggling to produce enough already, that thought terrified me. And so I pumped and fed and pumped and fed teetering on the edge of insanity. She was latched, she was drinking, and she was pooping, although I was never sure if it was enough. When I took my daughter back to the doctor I was not prepared for what I heard. The doctor told me my daughter was “failing to thrive” and that I needed to give her formula immediately or she would need to be admitted to the hospital. I was stunned and devastated. I looked at my husband and literally felt like I had let both him and my daughter down. I had potentially harmed my daughter by being so stubborn about not supplementing. I cried deep, heaving sobs of shame all the way home. We gave my daughter the formula and shortly after her weight blossomed. She was out of the “danger zone.” I didn’t give up breastfeeding. I breastfed for 10 months total supplementing with a few ounces of formula in the morning and at night. My milk still came and it actually came in more plentiful than ever. Perhaps I was just more relaxed. Looking back, I think the biggest disadvantage I had besides inexperience was not having anyone around me who had breastfed before. Looking back, I think the biggest disadvantage I had besides inexperience was not having anyone around me who had breastfed before. None of my family or extended members had done it. They couldn’t give me any advice. The sometimes convoluted information on the internet ended up stressing me out more than anything. In the end, my obsession with exclusively breastfeeding was not healthy for anyone. Knowing what I know now, I see how important it is for breastfeeding to be discussed openly within our communities. It’s also important that mothers have compassion for one another because we are all different and we all face our own unique challenges. Having the desire to breastfeed exclusively is a lot different than actually doing it. Some moms like myself are stubborn. We don’t ask for help as often as we should. We fear judgment. We fear failure. We need support and a soft place to fall when we are struggling. Ultimately, it’s those challenging, heart-wrenching experiences we learn from as mothers that make us stronger and learning to forgive ourselves for making mistakes can be truly empowering. More from Michelle: 5 Essential Questions To Ask Yourself Before Becoming A Stepmom

So if Daenerys Targaryen’s children suddenly appeared over the skyline of Manhattan and began to barbecue the citizens of Manhattan and New Yorkers, stalwart fighters all, responded with their anti-dragon fire hydrants, Trump would say that there was blame on both sides. Accidental transparency is what the president, who lost the popular vote spectacularly, is all about. Despite the fact that he goes to work in a Halloween costume, going as a bleach blonde, spray tanned Mah Jong playing woman from Boca Raton we see right through him. He can’t even play the part. The minute that he opens his beautiful piece of chocolate cake pie hole the convenient truth of who he really is comes bursting forth. His carefully worded by someone else’s words are crafted in a code that any pre-schooler could crack before snack time. Obviously I’ve been referring to the way that President Emperor Tycoon of the Tower of Babble handled the atrocities that happened in Virginia. As far as I can remember when it came to dealing with the Nazis, World War Two was the ultimate pest control. And yet what we got in return was Beetles. Go know. The point is, despite what Mel Gibson or any other Holocaust denier says, we pretty much Nuremberged their SS ass. I spent time in Munich a few years back and quickly discovered that the current generation of Germans will give you maybe 10 minutes to discuss their evil empire past and then it’s time for bratwurst and beer and maybe a screening of Caberet. Beautiful downtown Munich even has a fairly new Museum of Judaism. So to be clear, the people who brought you the Nazis want no part of them. And yet, now, somehow, America has managed to home grow a whole new generation of them. Now you have no doubt seen these fine young gentlemen who prefer their flag confederate. On match.com they list their preferences as: taking long, romantic goose stepping walks through cities while screaming Heil Trump, getting matching his and her swastika tattoos on their misshapen bald heads and mowing down innocent people in their fast moving cars. And that’s just their average Saturday. Now in most civilized societies these sour krauts would be squashed like vermin. Ah, but not here and certainly not by your very own Orange Julius Caesar. No, this guy has to choose his words as carefully as his wife, Squinty Escort from the small town of Clueless does. You see, her recent reactionary tweet was a once again a verbatim match of a quote from, guess who? You got it: Michelle Obama. And congratulations for that. No, your very own President Don Syndrome has to be tactful because those nutty Nazi guys who would like to see all of my people (and my fellow ex slaves the entire black community) become Daenerys style toast, are the very people who elected him and keep appearing with or without their teeth at his Love Me brag rallies. So, the number one guy on your Hitler parade blamed BOTH sides for what happened. Let me repeat: both. So according to Don Diego, who is secretly Zero, Heather Heyer, who was a champion of others, was as much to blame as say, David Dukes. And apparently most of you are fine with that, because, hey, there is some very serious buy- now-one-click-button shoppin’ to do on amazon.com You see WE, you me, us, are the real problem. We who do nothing but complain en route to the salon or the gym or to the movies to watch pretend superheroes save the pretend world so we can all drive home pretending that our cars are all Star War jet fighters or Batmobiles with our newfound fake feeling of power and importance. We are the guilty ones here. We who remain passive and indifferent while we stare at our iPhones like they were cherished newborns while we obsess over the Kardashians or Justin Bieber while Rome and the atmosphere burns. I’m guessing that most of you will pick Annabelle over the sequel to the Inconvenient Truth because, well, it’s just too damn inconvenient. So fuck you. Fuck you for sitting on your big fat complaining asses in your coffee shops, bitching and moaning about Trump right before you head to get your fucking car detailed. The big joke is Trump is not even the problem. He’s just a Stooge. A patsy. Trump is the willing idiot put into power by Steve Bannon after Bannon failed to get Sarah Palin elected (he wrote her speeches). What Bannon did discover was someone who knew absolutely nothing, but had a near magical ability how to talk directly to the angry, white racist Christian mostly redneck subculture that was fermenting and ready to explode. Now if he could just find himself another version of that clueless idiot, Bannon would be the ultimate puppet maker master. And there he was and he was just perfect. An empty headed, talentless, trust fund brat failure who was obsessed with power that he had no idea how to achieve—but would so anything, say anything to get it. Call Mexicans rapists and drug dealers? No problem bro! You see, my friends, Trump is nothing more than a buffon distraction who we obsess over like Taylor Swift fighting with Katy Perry, while every single member of the cabinet follows their marching orders, which is to destroy whatever department they are in charge of, from the EPA to Education. Bannon the red nosed reigndeer believes in government apocalypse. In order to create true power, you have to first obliterate from within. That is right out of the Vladimir Lenin playbook. And the other Vladimir, the one from Thugville, Russia, could not be happier because he gets to watch his mortal enemy, the Department of Justice implode. And that is how Trump Stoli-ed the election, Vodka fans. All Trump is doing is playing dress up president while he naps and plays Monopoly with the world with his insidious spawn. We are supposed to despise him and he’s not worried bout a thing. He can pardon everybody including himself and can leave the King of all Rats. He has gotten away with murder for his entire life. Why should today be an different. You rape. You pillage. You settle for just a few rubbles. In other words, he does not give a flying fuck about you. Or your children. Or this country. I will never ever forget the impassioned speech by Khizr Khan at the Democratic Convention when he held up a copy of the Constitution and waved it like a flag of honor in Trump’s Trump’s face. He had read it and coveted it—because that is what is selfless, magnificent son died protecting. And that is what Trump is pissing on every single day. How must the Khans and all the parents of lost soldiers feel today? How must World War Two veterans and concentration survivors feel on this fine Monday morning? How do they feel about a man who is more resident than President, who doesn’t have the balls to condemn the illiterate scumbag monsters of hate? No, once again he has given evil a hall pass. Once again he gets to sign a bill that he has never read. Once again he gets too accomplish nothing while he takes credit for everything. And as for every single American who accepted the open arm invitation offered by the Lady of the Harbor?

"We are putting in more efforts to emphasize values inculcation, lifelong learning, holistic education and 21st century skills. We hope to encourage joyful learning and help our students develop resilience and an entrepreneurial spirit." -- Pak Tee Ng Singapore has been well publicized as one of the most highly regarded education systems in the world. But does that acclaim exist mainly because of the country’s consistent high placement in international league tables such as the OECD’s Pisa or is there more to this system’s story? How did Singapore transform its once struggling education system into an effective one? In an age of technological disruption, uncertainty and dramatic change, what’s being done to emphasize lifelong learning, holistic education and 21st century skills today, and even more importantly, in the future? Learning from Singapore: The Power of Paradoxes, is a new book by Pak Tee Ng, which tells the inside story of the country’s continuous journey to achieve excellence in learning. The Global Search for Education is pleased to welcome Pak Tee Ng to talk about the past, present and future of learning in Singapore schools. Pak Tee Ng is Associate Dean, Leadership Learning, Office of Graduate Studies and Professional Learning, and Head and Associate Professor, Policy and Leadership Studies Academic Group, at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Republic of Singapore. "Our approach is to pursue timely change, policies based on long-term consideration of Singapore’s future, while preserving timeless constants - values that provide navigation beacons in the turbulence of change." -- Pak Tee Ng Welcome Pak Tee. Singapore has been hailed as a global success in education. Why is there still reform? How has global context impacted education in Singapore? The world is experiencing global uncertainties, technological disruptions, and contestations of values, all at an increasing rate of change. Although Singapore has a robust education system, it is changing to ensure that students have what it takes to meet the challenges of such a context and future. We change when we are strong rather than to wait until we are desperate. Then we can change in a more mindful and reflective manner. Work has begun much earlier but we are putting in more efforts to emphasize values inculcation, lifelong learning, holistic education and 21st century skills. We hope to encourage joyful learning and help our students develop resilience and an entrepreneurial spirit. We would like our young people to become morally upright, economically productive, and rooted to the country. What additional work is there to be done in improving schools? Let me give you a few examples of the things we are currently doing. Singapore schools are generally well organized for efficient and effective learning. But we are now much more mindful and intentional about making the learning process a joyful one, so that students develop an intrinsic desire for lifelong learning. Then, they will be better prepared to deal with future complex challenges. This requires teachers to examine their teaching methods to engage their students better. We are also making content more relevant to real life and giving students opportunities to apply knowledge and skills learned in school in authentic work settings. We help students develop their character and people skills through experiential learning in many areas, such as sports, outdoor adventures, uniformed groups, and art. We would like to broaden the definition of success and develop more educational pathways for students. We would like young Singaporeans to become well-rounded and productive citizens. "Singapore is able to draw strength from paradoxes because its education fraternity is united in its purpose to shape the future of the nation." -- Pak Tee Ng What has Singapore learned from other countries' systems and how has this impacted the decisions made for Singapore's education system? Learning from other countries’ education systems helps us to rethink our education paradigm and challenge our mindset. We discover that there are different ways in which equity among learners may be promoted. We become more acutely aware of the need for improvement in other sectors of education, especially in early childhood and special needs education. We also learn how an apprentice system of learning works in practice. The experiences of other systems also show us the possible side-effects of certain reforms. For example, having too many graduates in the country can be problematic because of their unmet employment expectations. We are therefore mindful to implement change in a calibrated manner. We learn from others, but we cannot blindly copy practices. We have to find our own way forward. What are the some of the competing philosophies of education coming out of Singapore? In my book, I explain that some competing philosophies, expressed as paradoxes, include the co-existence of timely change and timeless constants; centralisation and decentralisation; meritocracy and compassion; and teaching less and learning more. Let me give you a couple of examples. Firstly, should we change when we seem to have been successful? If we do, we are changing something that is working. If we don’t, we will soon be left behind. Therefore, our approach is to pursue timely change – policies based on long-term consideration of Singapore’s future, while preserving timeless constants - values that provide navigation beacons in the turbulence of change. Secondly, should Singapore’s education system be more centralized or decentralized? With more centralization, we decrease local customization and professional agency. With more decentralization, we reduce system level synergy. There, our approach is a paradoxical centralised decentralization, which emphasizes strategic alignment with tactical empowerment. System level synergy is derived through alignment with national level strategies. Professional agency is exercised through empowering educators to interpret policies for implementation based on local situations. In this way, Singapore maintains system coherence while supporting school leaders and teachers to make local level decisions. "Singapore’s experience shows that if an educational change is a mission for the benefit of the next generation, people will rally together and bite the bullet to see through the change." -- Pak Tee Ng What is the power of embracing paradoxes? How can paradoxes be put to good use? Embracing paradoxes is powerful because it drives positive movements in the system. Paradoxes are powerful because the tensions embedded in them demand for change. Therefore, paradoxes can be a source of strength for the system if they are positively embraced and well managed. But they can also bring conflicts if managed badly. Singapore is able to draw strength from paradoxes because its education fraternity is united in its purpose to shape the future of the nation. That is why paradoxes in Singapore are creative tensions rather than destructive ones, and result in positive rather than negative developments. Because Singapore policy-makers and educators accept paradoxes and constantly navigate them, the system is never in stagnation. Instead, it exhibits positive movements amid reflective contestations, rather than paralysis amid protracted discussions. Finally Pak Tee, what do you think are the most important lessons Singapore can teach the rest of the world? I would not call Singapore a model education system per se. But the world may be able to learn some important lessons from its reform journey. Firstly, the experience shows the importance of “system-ness”– education reform takes place in an integrated, coherent and sustainable manner at the system, school, classroom, and individual levels. Singapore aims to be an excellent system of schools for all, not a system with a few excellent schools for some. Secondly, the experience also shows the importance of national commitment to educational excellence – resource investment, long-term planning, judicious implementation, continuous professional development and teacher empowerment. In the book, I offer a few ‘what if’ reflective questions for another education system, based on Singapore’s experience: What if the country sees education as an investment rather than an expenditure? What if teachers are seen as nation builders and that the country is committed to recruit and develop good teachers and school leaders? What if education can become an uplifting, rather than negative, narrative in the country? Singapore’s experience shows that if an educational change is a mission for the benefit of the next generation, people will rally together and bite the bullet to see through the change. The Singapore experience raises the most fundamental question about any education reform: is it real? Or is it merely a slogan? For More Information on “Learning from Singapore: The Power of Paradoxes” in 2017 (Photos are courtesy of Madam Jessie Koh Yusof Ishak Secondary School) C. M. Rubin and Pak Tee Ng Join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. MadhavChavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. EijaKauppinen (Finland), State Secretary TapioKosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Geoff Masters (Australia), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Professor Manabu Sato (Japan), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (LyceeFrancais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

Business school teaches you how to work in a business not start one. Why? originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Bernie Klinder, Serial Entrepreneur, Investor, Consultant, on Quora: Formal business schools and the first MBA programs started at the turn of the 20th Century as industrialization enabled businesses to grow beyond the small local/regional operations to complex national and international enterprises. Until then, most “business schools” were vocational schools that consisted of a handful of accounting classes. The concepts of marketing, leadership, finance, and strategy were just starting to be developed and studied by academics, and the idea of “management as a science” was starting to gain acceptance. In 1900, the Tuck School of Business offered the first graduate degree in business (actually a Master of Science in Commerce). When Harvard launched the first MBA program in 1908, the curriculum was based on Fredrick Taylor’s scientific management studies. Advances in transportation and communication accelerated the pace of business, and the need for professionally trained management with a broader set of skills required to run these large businesses became clear. The number of programs increased, and by the 1950’s, statistical and financial analysis for forecasting were added to many MBA programs. (This was also in response to the view that management wasn’t a “science” and that business schools were looked down upon by other academic departments as a vocational program.) For many MBA programs, the curriculum hasn't changed much since then. The MBA was designed with the needs of large established industrial age companies in mind, and hasn't had a reason to change with the exception of adding ethics classes after the Enron and MCI scandals. While some firms had their own in-house management training programs , many encouraged aspiring managers to pursue the MBA and often paid for the tuition, provided time off for classes, and assigned executive mentors. Through all of this, a few Universities offered Entrepreneurship programs (the first was the University of Michigan in 1927), but it really wasn’t until the mid 90’s (and the rise of the Internet and Silicon Valley startups) that academic institutions even started paying attention to entrepreneurship. A few recognized that starting a new company from scratch is really a different skill set than running a large established company. Some programs responded by tweaking the curriculum and offering entrepreneurship electives, but sadly most of the core classes are still the same curriculum from 1950 which is focused on creating a stable and predictable large scale operation. As anyone who has been to college can appreciate, Universities are slow, lumbering organizations that worry a lot about accreditation. To revamp the MBA completely around the startup experience would require an agreement among several dozen leading Universities (and their accreditation bodies) about what would be taught, as well as who would be qualified to teach it - and here lies the problem: A lifelong academic with a PhD isn't an ideal business teacher and knows even less about starting a company. A successful entrepreneur isn’t likely to have a PhD in a business field, or have any interest in jumping through the hoops of being a professor. In addition, the “startup skills” you’ll need as an entrepreneur will smack right up against the skills you’ll need to run a complex business very quickly if you are successful. For example: it may take your venture a few months to launch, and another year or so to scale, but before you turn around you have several hundred employees and a multi-million (or even billion) dollar business that really needs an MBA (or several of them) to run. So rather than revamping the MBA, it makes more sense to teach entrepreneurship (launch) skills as a extended summer workshop or as part of an incubator program than spending 2 years studying it. After all, entrepreneurs are doers at heart who want to build things and not sit around studying how to build things from people who have never built a company. And your start up idea isn’t likely going to be viable if you wait 2 years to finish your MBA either.

Most of us don't get married planning to have an affair. But then later, there we are, at the divorce attorney's office, signing papers. In terms of context, consider these sobering stats: The rate of marital infidelity, according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, suggests that one or both spouses admit to either physical or emotional infidelity in 41 percent of marriages — with 57 percent of men and 51 percent of women admitting to infidelity in any of their relationships. The disheartening conclusion: Cheating is as common as fidelity. Ironically, the very steps we take to protect ourselves serve to facilitate affairs. Many of us deploy the "scared straight" strategy: We let our partner know that, if they ever cheat, it's SO over. This may seem to work, but only because we were so good at instilling fear that they mastered the cover-up. Fear may keep someone from talking, but not knowing about an affair doesn't mean there isn't one. After having laid a sustainable foundation for sexual compatibility before marrying (don’t worry, we’ll address that in a future column), effective affair-proofing our relationships starts with us as individuals. Research confirms common stereotypes: Men have affairs mostly for recreational sex, and women have affairs most often to find love and connection. These general trends may not cover every specific instance, but in general, we all need to develop more self-awareness. If the wife and I are having a sex life that is decidedly less satisfying in any way than what we need, our risk for straying goes way up. Having less of a connection than she needs to feel loved and significant, or less of a love life than he needs to feel the same, can make an affair become more likely. Neither guilt nor the fear of discovery keeps anyone from straying indefinitely. Relying on fear or becoming the sex detective who performs regular surveillance (aka stalking) distracts us from what we need to do. First, be yourself and do the best you can to be loving in a way that works for you. Second, acknowledge that neither you nor your partner stopped being sexual beings. You’re both still sexually attractive — and attracted to others. Third, make it OK to talk about temptation before it becomes real temptation. If my wife is attracted to a certain graying middle-aged movie star or the latest boy band singer, I want her to feel comfortable talking about that with me and to make it playful and fun and not as if she were making a tearful confession. Similarly, if her husband is attracted to the new hottie down the street and playfully announces that she’ll no longer need to worry about his being alone if he becomes a widower, well, let's encourage that sort of disclosure. Our talking about these sorts of feelings dramatically increases the depth of intimacy in a relationship so that we both feel safe in sharing who we are with one another. Sharing secrets builds closeness. The alternative is keeping it all to oneself, the first of many secrets. Finally, affair-proofing a marriage is a lot like fire-proofing your home. No home is ever made truly incapable of burning down — we only reduce, not eliminate, the risks of such a disaster by taking proactive measures. Taking these steps to affair-proof your marriage won’t guarantee against catastrophe, but they’re a great insurance policy. And if you believe the numbers in the opening paragraph, that’s a worthwhile rider to add to your policy. Got questions about sexuality you’d like marriage and family therapist Steven Ing to address in a future column? Tweet @StevenIngMFT or email [email protected].

The land of the free has one of the most restrictive and absurd laws that has ever been enacted. We’re talking about the Jones Act of 1920, an expression of the most infamous protectionism, legislation that requires merchant marine shipping between all ports of the United States to be made exclusively with vessels and crews of this nationality. This foolishness, like many others that occur daily is a product of the lobbying of large companies and its price tag is paid by families, especially in the most vulnerable sectors of society, like Puerto Rico, which, as an island, is particularly affected by this law. Let's take a closer look. Any product that arrives at the United States and whose final destination is Puerto Rico must be unloaded in Jacksonville and reloaded on a ship with an American flag and crew. This means families on the island pay a mark-up of 15% to 20% on everything imported to the island. This extra cost represents a considerable negative weight in terms of Puerto Ricans’ well-being, especially in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The devastation caused by the storm left the island on the verge of a deep humanitarian crisis. Puerto Rico’s electricity network was destroyed and could take weeks to rebuild. The lack of electricity and damage to infrastructure are paralyzing hospitals, schools, and other basic institutions. The population is at risk of a health crisis due to the scarcity of drinking water and basic medicines; despair is increasing among people due to scarcity food and other necessities; dozens of buildings have collapsed and numerous roads were destroyed. Furthermore, the money supply on the island has collapsed, leading to speculation and growing violence. When this is coupled with the damage from Hurricane Irma, the weight of the debt, and the bankruptcy that the local government faces, the outlook for 3.4 million Puerto Ricans is terrifying. Faced with such desolation, the White House has been harshly criticized for its banality, lack of empathy, and for aiming unfounded criticism against the affected population. Fortunately, the federal government has decided to temporarily lift the application of the Jones Act. As a result, any ship will be allowed to transport goods to the island, and therefore we hope to see a drop in the price of all articles of consumption, medicines, supplies, and items needed for relief efforts that are so urgently required. Thanks to this measure, importers have the freedom to choose among transportation options, and Puerto Ricans will have quicker access to basic necessities. No one will be required by law to use non-competitive companies that are expensive and provide poor service. The bad news is that this great gesture of generosity is only temporary. In a few days, everything will return to normal. In other words, the exploitation of the inhabitants of Puerto Rico at the hands of shipping companies, distributors, and other predators will continue, thanks to their powerful lobbyists in DC. This is possible because Puerto Ricans are second-class citizens. They have only one Representative in the U.S. Congress ... but this person does not have the right to vote. This reminds us of that memorable revolutionary slogan of 1776: "No taxation without representation." Today, the White House is blaming and humiliating this "Commonwealth" for having an unpayable debt totaling US$72 billion dollars. However, compared to the value of the plunder of the Jones Act, this debt is insignificant. The annual cost of this looting is estimated at some US$6 billion. After 97 years of abuse, it could be said that US companies have unjustly extracted at least US$ 582 billion from Puerto Rican families ̶ and this is without updating this figure for the time value of money, which would result in a staggering amount. From this shameful chapter we have learned that the United States does not fully maintain a free market. The Jones Act is a typical case of what is known as regulatory capture: that is, the imposition of laws that only benefit the big and powerful. It is also an example of the damage generated by the anti-capitalistic mentality, as defined by Ludwig von Mises. It is shameful to see that industry is represented by abusive companies that thrive at the expense of the well-being of the most vulnerable families, those who, because of an unjust system, do not even have political representation in Washington.

My head is spinning over Charlottesville. I spend my early adulthood in Washington, DC, and frequented Charlottesville when some close friends relocated there. I found it peaceful, and I would romanticize a quiet life free of city noise and politics. My memories have been turned on their head after the events of the weekend. As an attorney in the diversity & inclusion space, a number of individuals have approached me on what can be done by the majority of us who awoke to another work week with fear and heavy-hearts, unsure of what to say to our children, let alone those family members and colleagues who don’t hurt in the same way. In my experience, politics involves three distinct factions: (1) those who think like me; (2) those who don’t think like me, yet are willing to listen; (3) those deeply committed to their own racism, misogyny, homophobia, and overall fear and hatred of others. We need to distinguish our audience before proceeding, and allocate our time where it can do the most good. We’ll begin with the latter: (3) In the words of the Honorable Maxine Waters, “I ain’t got time for that.” On a practical note, there is not much we can say to individuals committed to their own racism. Someone deeply entrenched in these values will not otherwise be convinced. Not by you, and not in the limited time that we have. That’s not our conversation. Walk away. On a related note, children stop throwing fits if you stop paying attention. Tell the media, too. We might not have the current administration in the White House if a year ago someone had made the ethical decision to not provide a platform to a candidate that enticed violence at political rallies, made fun of a reporter with a disability, and called the language of sexual assault “locker room talk.” Stop giving idiots coverage. (2) Here we go. This will be uncomfortable and you will suck at this at first, because any time we do something new, it will be uncomfortable and we will be bad at it. Do it anyway. You won’t become an athlete if you only go to the gym once. And we need social justice athletes right now. This problem seems big. And it is big, but no matter who we are we have a platform. Take the opportunity to begin conversations where you can: Begin a discussion from a vulnerable place. “You’re a racist” may be accurate, but it won’t entice someone else to listen. Saying “my heart hurts because I love someone black” or “I’m afraid and feel unsafe because I’m Jewish” are honest and more likely to garner empathy than leading with some version of “you’re a terrible person.” Such conversations require us all to drop below our anger into our fear, and that can be risky, and leave us naked and afraid in the presence of someone who does intend harm. This is a calculated risk. Don’t do it with everybody. But if this is a relationship that you value, take the risk. “You’re a racist” may be accurate, but it won’t entice someone else to listen. Saying “my heart hurts because I love someone black” or “I’m afraid and feel unsafe because I’m Jewish” are honest and more likely to garner empathy than leading with some version of “you’re a terrible person.” Such conversations require us all to drop below our anger into our fear, and that can be risky, and leave us naked and afraid in the presence of someone who does intend harm. This is a calculated risk. Don’t do it with everybody. But if this is a relationship that you value, take the risk. Ask questions. If someone says “all lives matter” ask why they said that instead of “black lives matter.” What assumptions are behind their statement? We all hold assumptions, and we all hold biases. But if we are unaware of them, they will take us down from behind. As you encourage others to look at their assumptions, look at your own. Listen before responding. Don’t formulate the response in your head as the other person is speaking. You’re not here to “win,” and despite your aspirations, you’re not going to fix this today. If racism were easy, we’d have fixed it. The goal is to foster a conversation and to make 2 millimeter shifts. We are gradually focusing a telescope, and that is a process. Allow for the unfolding, and do so without expectations. At the same time, it is important to know and enforce your own boundaries. If you don’t tolerate racial slurs or stereotypes, say that plainly, and act accordingly. If someone says “all lives matter” ask why they said that instead of “black lives matter.” What assumptions are behind their statement? We all hold assumptions, and we all hold biases. But if we are unaware of them, they will take us down from behind. As you encourage others to look at their assumptions, look at your own. Listen before responding. Don’t formulate the response in your head as the other person is speaking. You’re not here to “win,” and despite your aspirations, you’re not going to fix this today. If racism were easy, we’d have fixed it. The goal is to foster a conversation and to make 2 millimeter shifts. We are gradually focusing a telescope, and that is a process. Allow for the unfolding, and do so without expectations. At the same time, it is important to know and enforce your own boundaries. If you don’t tolerate racial slurs or stereotypes, say that plainly, and act accordingly. Steer the conversation towards empathy. If you are speaking to a friend or family member, and you are invested, ask them about a parallel experience that may allow them to see the events from someone else’s position. Cultivating empathy may take you to new depths of vulnerability about your own experience. After the election, I was having dinner with a friend who told me I was being dramatic, and that my life as a white woman wasn’t going to change. The garbage was still going to get picked up on Tuesday. I elected to share that in college I had been sexual assaulted and raped within a six month window, and that the “grab ‘em by the pussy” comment made me feel unsafe and unvalued in a way no one else in a leadership position ever had. I also did not want anyone else to experience the years of shame and self-blame that I had. My friend got it. I took a risk, and it was worth it. He held space then, and continues to do so when I express my fear surrounding this administration. (1) Safety in numbers. We need people who think like us. We need people who “get it” and allow us to feel safe and supported, so that we may spring from safety into the vulnerability required for these conversations. Lean on those who think like you, but don’t spend every minute there. Ask for their love and support, and call and hug them often. But more than that, allow them to provide you the courage to be the social justice warrior our country needs right now. And a special note to my fellow white people: Check any initial defensiveness at the door. When holding space for friends of color, Jewish friends, or anyone who has been victimized, do not get defensive. Especially not today. Not everything is about you, and we need you to hold space without a “Not all white people do that” or “I doubt she really meant that.” When you say that, no matter how well intended, you invalidate the other person’s experience. Honor the other person’s experience. Hold space for them while they hurt. Victim blaming is a real response because we don’t like to admit that we live in a world that is random. That terrifies us, and reminds us that despite our best efforts, bad things could happen. Therefore, we attempt to create order out of chaos. But neither deflecting the other individual’s experience (“You’re exaggerating”) nor dismissing it all together (“That didn’t happen”) will heal these wounds. Check yourself. And just don’t.

Bryant helped write the teleplay with producer Ali Rushfield and West herself. Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video Entertainment company will help develop the production, with Andrew Singer as executive producer. Other executive producers include Elizabeth Banks, who originally optioned West’s memoir for TV in 2016, and Max Handelman’s Brownstone Productions. Hulu described the production to The Hollywood Reporter as “the story of a fat young woman who wants to change her life, but not her body.” Bryant and West’s supporters on social media are already buzzing about the news: AIDY BRYANT GETTING A MOVIE W HER AS THE LEAD? IT'S WHAT SHE DESERVES — frankie (@shootinglovemp3) April 24, 2018 I just cancelled Hulu but it looks like I need to subscribe again to watch "Shrill." So excited for Lindy West, who totally deserves every great thing that happens to her and more. https://t.co/vXivkiyL1O — Ellen K. Pao (@ekp) April 24, 2018 Taking a momentary break from my vacation to celebrate THIS MAGIC COMING TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU!!! pic.twitter.com/hXQ8jAHbWX — nicolette mason (@nicolettemason) April 24, 2018 Day Made- I hear bells of joy ringing. Aidy Bryant adapted and stars in new @hulu series based on Lindy West's Shrill.https://t.co/OP33kf5qQY — Melissa Silverstein (@melsil) April 24, 2018 Queen Lindy West x Aidy Bryant...magic!!! pic.twitter.com/dvrDvCK5Wg — safy (@SafyHallanFarah) April 24, 2018 SO PROUD OF MY SISTER IN LAWhttps://t.co/ySLBdS6HvU — Ijeoma Oluo (@IjeomaOluo) April 24, 2018 Bryant recently told New York magazine’s The Cut that she’s extremely selective about the projects she participates in, so her starring role in West’s memoir adaptation is notable.

POPPY WINS BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST AT 2017 STREAMY AWARDS Titanic Sinclair ‘POPPY.COMPUTER’ the debut album from Poppy, is out now on I’m Poppy Records/Mad Decent. The album is available for digital download and streaming via all participating digital retailers HERE. The internet phenom recently was honored with “Breakthrough Artist” at the 2017 Streamy Awards, celebrating the best in online video and the creators behind it. Poppy is also gearing up for her highly anticipated first tour which kicks off on October 19th in Vancouver, Canada. The “Poppy.Computer Tour” has already sold out in several markets and due to high demand; additional shows have been added in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston. Tickets can be purchased at www.poppy.computer Poppy’s YouTube channel has amassed over 180 million views to date. Her channel has captured the attention of everyone from Diplo and Katy Perry to WIRED Magazine and most recently Apple which mentioned Poppy’s song “I’m Poppy” at the Keynote WWDC 2017. About Poppy In the year 2014, a small doll-like creature emerged from Youtube. Is she a human? Android? Cross breed? Will we ever know? Thanks to her video titled "I'M POPPY” (that has now been viewed over 11 million times) we know one thing is for sure, She’s Poppy! With several hundred videos under her belt (this year) and hundreds of millions of views on YouTube, Poppy prepares to release her debut album today. If the internet Gods have blessed you with Poppy’s presence, you have probably felt like you were transported into another dimension or perhaps another state of mind? Directed by Titanic Sinclair, Poppy’s videos are a daily-morphine drip for a social media addicted generation. Who knew watching a small blonde girl recite the obvious, question existence, or just eat something could make you feel so perplexed. Wired Magazine says “The magic of Poppy is that, to understand Poppy, you have to keep watching Poppy. And soon you find yourself watching her everywhere: YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. Before long, you’re swimming in a sea of Poppy. The water is cool and pink but eventually you wonder if Titanic will start turning up the heat and that, before you know it, you’ll be boiled alive or choke on the Pepto-Bismol taste and drown. You dive deeper anyway."

This week’s biggest sports news had nothing to do with sports but a wily exchange between Cam Newton and Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue. The exchange was in my opinion a cultural expression and chance for the sports world to learn about how people like Cam Newton (black people) express themselves. The room was quiet because many of Rodrigue’s colleagues probably agree with the misinterpretation of Newton’s remarks. In fact, sports reporting is suffering an extended crisis of race diversity in nearly every sport. The biggest offense in all of this is the missed opportunity to celebrate the strides of diversity that confidently placed a competent female reporter in the same rooms and spaces as world-class athletes and other sports reporting leaders. Yep, we missed it! Instead, people chose to use the occasion to bring down one of the NFL’s highest flying QB’s this season. Newton is already the QB rushing touchdown leader with 50. NBC Sports sided with Rodrigue but also wondered how distracted Cam would be following all this. As I’ve said before, with more people in the room who would much more easily understand Newton, he may not have been under attack all week. It’s as simple as understanding cultural communication, which goes beyond learning and understanding colloquialisms. In our haste to be offended this week, we've learned two unintended truths: Cam Newton just may be a chauvinist and Jourdan Rodrigue is probably a racist. See what happens when we demand to be offended? The unintended effect of exposing our own hypocrisy and facing our shortcomings are all part of the package and problem. Dr. Rick Wallace says that Jourdan Rodrigue weaponized her whiteness and I tend to agree with that statement. All week long, this has been allowed to drag on. It’s taken the lead away from players kneeling and it has put another prominent black male on the chopping block. Yesterday, Dannon severed ties with Newton and before any others could follow suit, we had a tearful apology. But, for what exactly? Based on his apology, it’s easy to guess that he meant it as a jerk. As a black man who is often amazed when my white friends dance to “Watch Me” by Silento or my contemporaries who can braid their daughters’ hair perfectly, sew and other ‘non-traditional’ tasks...it’s “funny” to me,too! Am I unlearned? Stuck in a bygone era? No...that’s how I express my amazement. It’s my way of calling something “remarkable”. I will never apologize for that and given the opportunity, would explain my choice of words. Cam owes no apologies for it. But without a doubt, Rodrigue owed the apology also issued on yesterday. In sports officiating, we call those offsetting penalties. I'm not dismissing Cam's comments, in fact I made a case for why Cam may have simply miscommunicated his impression with the reporter's question. With each passing day, we're on high alert, high strung and always ready to be offended. It’s the new American way, but at what cost? We are creeping toward a reality devoid of intrinsic beauty. We are whitewashing with a broad brush the freedom of expression with a top coat of bewildered sensitivity. This will lead to a breakdown in communication as people will seek to hear according to their understanding and only the majority will hear and be heard!

Thanks in large part to the Chinese market, “The Fate of the Furious” just had the biggest worldwide opening weekend in Hollywood history. The movie, which was internationally released on Friday, pulled in an estimated $532.5 million globally, Universal Pictures announced. Although the official figures don’t come out until Monday morning, “The Fate of the Furious” appears to be on track to best “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which currently holds the record at $529 million following its 2015 release. “The Fate of the Furious” raked in $100.2 million inside the U.S. and $432.3 million aboard ― the latter is the most any film has ever made in its international debut weekend. “Jurassic World” held the previous record with $316 million. That international help was needed, as it appears that the eighth movie in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise was not able to pull in domestically anything close to what “Furious 7” did in the U.S. during its opening weekend two years ago. “This is truly a global franchise,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore, told Variety. “These movies translate perfectly into any culture. Fast cars, outrageous stunts — that’s the international language for something everybody loves.”

Former Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), 91, known on Twitter for his bristling and often comical political observations, had a clear message following Saturday’s deadly violence incited by a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress in history, was also one of the final two World War II veterans to leave office in 2014. On Sunday, Dingell tweeted that he enlisted once to fight Nazis, and he’d do so again if necessary. I signed up to fight Nazis 73 years ago and I'll do it again if I have to. Hatred, bigotry, & fascism should have no place in this country. — John Dingell (@JohnDingell) August 12, 2017 What happened yesterday was radical terrorism, @realDonaldTrump. Refusal to identify it, denounce it, & fight it makes one complicit in it. — John Dingell (@JohnDingell) August 13, 2017 Dingell enlisted when he turned 18 in 1944. He told NPR that he did not see combat and cited the atomic bomb as the reason. If the bomb had not been dropped, Dingell said he would have been part of a ground attack on Japan. The former congressman, who served in Congress from 1955 to 2014, is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump. He most recently used the anniversary of former President Richard Nixon’s resignation from office as an opportunity to show Trump how such a decision could be made. “You could even fit it in a tweet,” he wrote to the president.

We know Nicole Kidman is busy filming a slew of new movies, starring on “Big Little Lies” Season 2 and reigning as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, but we’ll take that country music album anytime now. The actress joined her husband, country star Keith Urban, on stage at a Spotify event promoting his new album, “Graffiti U,” on Monday night in Nashville, Tennessee. The pair performed an acoustic rendition of Urban’s new track “Parallel Line” in a surprise duet after Urban coaxed Kidman from the crowd of about 150 fans. Urban later posted a short clip of the couple’s impromptu musical moment. It shows the actress joining in on the song, which was co-written by Ed Sheeran. A post shared by Keith Urban (@keithurban) on Apr 23, 2018 at 8:17pm PDT Kidman apparently interrupted Urban’s introduction of the song while standing in the crowd, which prompted him to invite her on stage. “You can come and sing it with me and I’ll do it,” he said, according to People. And so she did, taking a seat on a stool as Urban serenaded her with his guitar, while someone placed a microphone in front of her. When the song’s chorus hit, she showed off her vocal skills and joined her husband in song. “Take a little bit of my heart tonight,” they sang together. “No, baby be mine now/ Baby, be mine now / Maybe it’s time we put our hearts in a parallel line.” Kidman, of course, starred in the movie musical “Moulin Rouge,” but more recently sang backup vocals for the track “Female” on Urban’s new album. She also appeared with him in a “Carpool Karaoke”-style video featuring the two singing “The Fighter,” which racked up millions of views. A post shared by Keith Urban (@keithurban) on May 12, 2016 at 10:08am PDT The couple recently stunned on the red carpet at the Academy of Country Music Awards, where they dished on collaborating together. “I don’t have a lot of confidence singing,” Kidman told Access Hollywood at the event. “[Moulin Rouge] was a long time ago and even then I had a lot of anxiety when I sing. I prefer acting because singing is hard for me.” Axelle/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images Kidman and Urban attend the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards on April 15.

I’d dreamed of being a nun since the age of 12, when I transformed from a caterpillar to a butterfly at the hands of Sister Helen Charles. I was a mess the day I entered her 6th grade—an eleven year old misfit who’d been bullied and beaten for being a tomboy. I walked with my head down, rarely made eye contact, spoke only when I had to. I didn’t fit in anywhere and had no expectations things would change. Sister Helen Charles, however, saw a spark inside and set out on a mission to kindle the flame. She called my mom and introduced her to a new idea they agreed to try. It was called positive reinforcement. Every time I did something right, they made a big fuss over it. I thought they were weird at first, going on about how athletic I was, how creative, how smart and trust-worthy. But after a few weeks, an amazing thing happened. Their affirmations took root. I woke up one day and believed in myself. There was a fire inside me and I felt its heat. That day I decided to be a nun when I grew up. I was sure they had some kind of magic wand hidden in those folds of black serge and I wanted one. I wanted to do for other kids what Sister Helen Charles had done for me. At the age of eighteen I entered the convent. I found my bliss in this spiritual boot camp. They scheduled our time in a way that met all my needs: equal parts of prayer, solitude, community and service. We were in training for the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and there were rules galore. I obeyed the ones I agreed with and followed my own conscience in most situations. I was introduced to the three teachers who influence my life to this day: Thomas Merton, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin . I steeped myself in their work, studied every word they wrote, took on their mantles of monasticism, activism, mysticism. I made contact with my inner divine, explored texts from Eastern traditions, committed myself as an agent of change, and saw the infinite in all things. In my first Theology class, I struggled to understand the distinction between religion and faith. I wanted to hold on to my certainties, my catechetical beliefs, thinking that’s all I needed, when our Jesuit professor was pushing us to evolve spiritually, to say aloud what we committed to. “Your religion is a set of beliefs that you inherit,” he said. “Your faith, your spirituality, is what you yourself create based upon your ultimate concerns and commitments.” I suffered deep anxiety as I let go of certainty to enter into the mystery of my own faith-making. It took everything I had to lay my foundation, to discern what I valued most, to develop a language of personal authority, to proclaim that my faith is my commitment to justice, to peace, to community-building. After two years of this deepening, transformative work and prayer, I was dismissed. At the end of a long day, I was taken to a basement parlor and told by my Novice Director that my parents would be there in a half an hour. “Chapter has decided you’re not to continue your novitiate.” I froze, unable to speak, afraid to cry for fear of what might be set loose. She took my veil, then we sat in silence till we heard my parents being ushered into the room next door. Ten years went by before I wrote and asked why. The letter was short, but stated that I “didn’t have a religious disposition” because of my “excessive and exclusive relationships.” Memories of feeling like a misfit fired in every neuron. They didn’t use the word gay or homosexual, but it was right there between their lines. You don’t fit in here. You’ll never fit in. I spent many hours in therapy trying to heal from the rejection, but couldn’t get past the pain. Finally, after twenty years, I asked the sister who was Provincial Director at the time of my dismissal, in charge of our Motherhouse of 400 sisters, to sit with me as I unwound the story in her presence. By now, she had rotated out of leadership and was teaching in a Syracuse Catholic high school. We sat together in a parlor, knee to knee in hard-backed chairs, and she listened to my whole story, starting with sixth grade. I told her about the formula for bliss and how I organize my life into equal parts of prayer, service, solitude and community since I learned it in the Novitiate. I told her how many years I ran to the mailbox hoping that would be the day I’d get the letter where they asked me to come back, that they’d made a terrible mistake. I told her about coming out to a priest and being refused absolution unless I denounced my own gayness, and how grateful I was for that Theology class where I learned I could be a woman of faith without religion. I told her what it had been like to have no Plan B, no idea how to create a life I had not prepared for—that I went into social work, thinking that was closest to being a nun, but left it for social activism when I realized I wanted to be more like Gandhi than Mother Teresa. “I am out here alone, but I am living the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph. I am lonely for community and so terribly sad that it worked out this way and I can’t seem to get over it,” I said. “I’m trying this last thing to see if a miracle might happen and my heart can find its peace. That’s all.” When I was done, she took my hand and said, “Sister, will you forgive me for the role I played in this terrible injustice done to you on my watch?” It cost me nothing to forgive her. I did not blame her for anything. Once I said “Yes, of course,” she asked if I would forgive the entire congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet for this terrible injustice that was done to me by this community. Again, I did not blame them and said immediately, “Yes, I forgive the entire community.” When these words left my lips, all heaven broke loose. I felt the release of a huge weight. I felt the fire again in my belly. I felt the surprise of an illuminating thought that has remained with me to this day: there is nothing to forgive. What happened, happened for me as much as to me. I also felt gratitude that I hadn’t felt in twenty years, because there was no room inside me to hold it. All the space that was taken up by rage, angst, humiliation, despair, shame—all that space opened up for gratitude when the story shifted. I turned to Sr. Marian Rispski, in tears again but for a whole new reason, and said “Thank you so much for letting me live a monastic life for two years. Thank you and the whole community for my spiritual underpinnings. Thank you for the foundation I needed to find my voice and offer my gifts.” Had they let me stay, this would be the beginning of my Jubilee Year, a grand celebration of fifty years as a Sister of St. Joseph. I attended two Jubilee celebrations this summer and felt mixed blessings at both of them. I longed to stand with all the Sisters as they renewed their vows and sang Sancte Joseph, and I was also grateful for my life of freedom. The physicist Neils Bohr writes, “Opposite a true statement is a false statement. But opposite a profound truth is another profound truth.” That is the case here. When I spin the story to its true end, I feel deep gratitude for the ordeal that was grist for the masterpiece of my life. They let me go because I was an eagle and needed more room to fly. They knew I could not be silenced, obedient, true to any authority other than my own. They knew I was an activist down to my marrow and would not always be on the side of the official church. They really did see me. And as I look back at my last fifty years, I see, too, that what I’ve become would not have been possible as a Sister of St. Joseph. I became a gay activist because I experienced such cruel homophobia I could not remain silent in the face of it. I made a year long peace pilgrimage around the world which exposed me to faith traditions I would have never known had I not stayed in the homes of Hindus, Muslims, Palestinians, Israelis, Buddhists, Sikhs, Taoists and Wiccans. I am free to criticize the Catholic Church for its positions that put so many people at risk and in harm’s way. I have preached in hundreds of churches in dozens of countries and speak from the authority of my own experience. My own spiritual practice is the center point of my life, and while I am not engaged with the Church, everything I do and am is rooted in my faith.. It does not matter if I believe in the God I grew up with. It does not matter if I am Catholic or not. What matters is that I am true to my own vows of authenticity, creativity and peace-making.

He pledged Jimmy Fallon's money to charity. After auctioning off a portrait of himself for $26,000, Colbert went on his show and announced that Jimmy Fallon had agreed to match those funds. Only problem was, he never told Jimmy he was going to do that . As Fallon explained in an interview with our own Arianna, "Literally he did not call me or ask me or consult with me and see if I would ever match $26,000 to a charity." We guess Colbert just KNEW his BFF for six months would come through.

Zhang Xia (Yicai Global) Aug. 14 -- The Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. [SHA:601288] and Mastercard Inc. [NYSE:MA] will work with China’s largest audio sharing platform, Himalaya FM, to release credit cards aimed at younger demographics. The new card, called My Way Credit Card, marks the first time that banks have worked with an audio platform to integrate financial payments with intellectual property payments and listening and reading. Cardholders can enjoy a free three-month membership for the platform and also receive monthly recommendations regarding Himalaya FM shows. The card will be functional online and offline in 210 countries. The number of consumers willing to pay for intellectual content in China tripled in 2016 to reach nearly 50 million, with users born in the 1980s and 1990s making up over 90 percent.

An overwhelming majority of Bill O’Reilly’s viewers still approve of the controversial Fox News pundit despite a rising tide of sexual harassment allegations against him, according to a HuffPost/YouGov survey conducted over the weekend. Slightly more than 85 percent of Americans polled who sometimes or regularly watch “The O’Reilly Factor” say they’re aware of the recent controversy surrounding its host. Earlier this month, a New York Times investigation revealed that five women who had accused O’Reilly of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior over the past 15 years received a combined $13 million to settle their claims. The alleged behavior included verbal abuse, unwelcome sexual advances and calls in which O’Reilly could be heard masturbating over the phone. Most “O’Reilly Factor” viewers are unfazed: 65 percent hold a favorable view of O’Reilly, according to the HuffPost/YouGov survey. Just 17 percent say they think his show should be canceled in light of the controversy. Among Republican viewers, only 9 percent want to see the show canceled. A man accused of sexual assault by more than a dozen women now sits in the White House, so perhaps O’Reilly’s continued popularity isn’t too surprising. Among respondents who said they watch “The O’Reilly Factor” sometimes or regularly, 60 percent are men, 66 percent lean or identify as Republican and 52 percent voted for President Donald Trump. The ratings for O’Reilly’s primetime show have been strong throughout the controversy, and his new book, Old School ― about “old school” values ― is at No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list. Other things have gone less well for O’Reilly since the Times bombshell. More than 50 companies have pulled advertising from his show. Dr. Wendy Walsh, a former guest on the show, accused him of retaliating against her after she turned down his sexual advances. Parent company 21st Century Fox has launched an internal investigation, conducted by an outside law firm, into O’Reilly’s behavior. NBC via Getty Images Alec Baldwin played Bill O'Reilly in a recent episode of "Saturday Night Live." O’Reilly is currently on vacation as Fox executives reportedly ponder his fate. He’s scheduled to return next week. The 67-year-old earns a salary of $18 million a year and his show brought in $178 million in advertising revenue in 2015, according to one estimate. “The O’Reilly Factor” has been the most popular cable news show for years, with around 3 million viewers. In other words, paying out a few million to the women who say O’Reilly harassed them worked just fine for Fox for more than a decade. But the accusations against O’Reilly’s have other costs. Companies send a strong signal to their employees ― and the world ― when they continue to defend men against a preponderance of sexual harassment charges: We don’t really care how you’re treated here. It’s similar to what O’Reilly himself said last year when his boss, Roger Ailes, was facing a raft of harassment allegations. “If you don’t like what’s happening in the workplace, go to human resources or leave,” he told viewers. Of course, women are unlikely to go to the human resources department to complain about the CEO ― the man who runs the HR department. Journalist Megyn Kelly abandoned her perch at Fox partly because of these comments from O’Reilly, The New York Times reported this weekend. She was instrumental in Ailes’ ouster and was fighting for women inside the company to come forward with their stories, but reportedly thought O’Reilly’s remarks would discourage them. Ailes was ultimately ousted, receiving a $40 million severance from Fox. Gretchen Carlson, the former Fox host who accused him of harassment and sparked his removal, received a reported $20 million. The move was considered a victory for women. But paying the accused harasser twice as much as the accuser sends a slightly less positive message. Use the widget below to further explore the results of HuffPost/YouGov’s survey, using the menu at the top to select survey questions and the buttons at the bottom to filter the data by subgroups: The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,000 completed interviews conducted April 14-15 among U.S. adults, using a sample selected from YouGov’s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population. The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls.You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov’s nationally representative opinion polling. Data from all HuffPost/YouGov polls can be found here. More details on the polls’ methodology are available here.

Another early death has struck “The Deadliest Catch.” Blake Painter, a former captain on the Discovery reality show, was found dead in his Astoria, Oregon, home, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. He was 38. Fellow “Deadliest Catch” star Tony Lara died at age 50 from a heart attack in 2015 and Phil Harris succumbed to a stroke in 2010. Another cast member, Justin Tennison, died at age 33 before he was to make his first appearance on the show in 2011, ABC previously reported. Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin told the AP that Painter’s body was discovered May 25 by a friend who became alarmed when he couldn’t reach him. He found Painter lying face down on the kitchen floor, USA Today reported. The cause of death will be released after the completion of a toxicology report, Bergin said. However, foul play is not suspected. Painter, who appeared on the second and third seasons of the documentary series about the dangers facing crab fishermen in Alaska ― now in its 14th season ― had been in turbulent waters away from the sea. He was arrested in January after a police officer allegedly saw him smoking heroin as he drove. He was charged with DUI, heroin possession and evidence-tampering. Keith Colburn of “The Deadliest Catch” wished Painter a seafaring farewell on Twitter.

What the president of the United States says sets the tone and shapes American foreign policy. As a candidate and even as president-elect, Donald Trump has shown little interest in the protocols, agreements and practices that have marked American foreign policy - and even less interest in spelling out a consistent foreign policy of his own. His impulsive style and his tendency to tweet whatever is on his mind have increased tensions across the globe, and especially with China. Trump tosses off comments in all directions and uses Twitter to express popular but vague positions on a wide range of policies. He is keeping the world guessing about his future statecraft. I and others have a hard time understanding his true intentions. Trump accepted a phone call and held a conversation with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen, a highly unorthodox move that broke with nearly four decades of precedent and called into question America's One China policy. In addition, he has threatened to impose a 45 percent tariff on China, which would disrupt world trade. His unsubstantiated judgments that China is "killing us" on trade and "raping our country" create enormous resentment and uncertainty. Trump has a transactional view of governing, including foreign policy. In his world, everything is a deal; every relationship is tit-for-tat. He suggests using Taiwan as a bargaining chip to force China to give us a break on trade. He is stoking tensions, flirting with major changes (apparently reconsidering the One China policy) in order to gain trade concessions. He is willing to disrupt the relationship without concern about the consequences. The question arises: Is this approach to policy the way to handle this critically important relationship? The U.S. relationship with China, ongoing since 1972 when President Richard Nixon visited China, has included elements of confrontation and cooperation. It is not surprising that a new president might have questions about the relationship and want to put his own stamp on policies. Trump's willingness to shake up the traditional norms and framework may have some value, and some push-back lets China know that, while we want a stable, mutually beneficial relationship, there are limits to our willingness to cooperate. After all, China, with its rising footprint in the region, significant power and growing activism, does present challenges for U.S. policy. China has largely avoided intervention in other countries' affairs, however, even as it aggressively pursues its interests and protects its territorial claims. But our engagement with China over a period of decades has served both sides, creating stability in the region, avoiding war and allowing both countries to grow and prosper. Questioning longstanding policy is fair game; creating chaos, resentments and doubt is not. Is Trump signaling a real shift? And if so, what it will be? Does he want to abandon the One China policy, a bedrock principle of American foreign policy? And replace it with what? Does he want to provoke a trade war? The relationship is fragile as well as of paramount importance. The future of the world, in no small measure, depends on the stability of U.S.-China relations. Trump's vague tweets, with few details, sow confusion and escalate risks, such as when China flew what was described as a nuclear-capable bomber across Taiwan and disputed areas of the South China Sea. All this means that America must be clear, consistent and forceful in maintaining our vital interests in the region. So, from my perspective, Trump's statements are worrisome. He needs to reassure our allies that America will maintain open commerce and trade, continue pragmatic relations, calm tensions and uphold global standards of conduct between nations. With strong and growing ties with China, America's interest is to make the relationship work. China is our largest trading partner, a nuclear power, and a member of the U.N. Security Council with veto power. U.S. exports to China support over 250,000 jobs. We have strong and growing ties with China. China also can contribute to the world's stability. Many global problems will be easier to solve with China on board. We have numerous common interests, including climate change, nuclear security and cybersecurity. A stable U.S.-China relationship produces substantial benefits for both countries. But making the relationship work takes clarity about U.S. objectives. Trump challenges the status quo, but it is not clear what direction he wants to go. The American foreign policy establishment and our allies around the world are anxious about his casual approach.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. ― Richard Spencer, the 39-year-old white nationalist leader, said Monday that he did not take President Donald Trump’s statement denouncing hate groups seriously, and two of Spencer’s associates shared a somewhat similar sentiment with HuffPost. “The statement today was more Kumbaya nonsense,” Spencer said, speaking to reporters in his office and part-time home in Alexandria, Virginia. “He sounded like a Sunday school teacher. I just don’t take him seriously ... it sounded so hollow and vapid.” Trump’s statement Monday was technically his most direct denunciation of white supremacy in the wake of violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend that left three dead and at least 35 injured. But for a president who is quick to tweet against any perceived slight, the statement arrived noticeably late ― and only after he faced bipartisan criticism for vaguely condemning violence “on many sides.” Spencer, who spoke at the Charlottesville rally, invited reporters to a news conference Monday to address the incident. He initially tried to host the press event at two hotels in Washington, D.C., but they both canceled his reservation, according to Spencer. (He said he used his real name.) Reporters were instead instructed to go to a street corner in Old Town Alexandria. A man who worked with Spencer and who gave a pseudonym, Reinhard, beckoned reporters upstairs to a makeshift office. The liquor cabinet was stocked with Cutty Sark whiskey and Bombay Dry Gin, the bookcase stacked with The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, the German philosophy book Nietzsche’s Teaching: An Interpretation of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, a blow-up doll of what appeared to be Pepe the Frog (a character co-opted by white nationalists) and a “Make America great again” hat. There was also a “We the People” diversity poster propped on a windowsill. Dana Liebelson/HuffPost A Trump campaign hat and right-wing books fill shelves in the makeshift office in Alexandria, Virginia. The office appeared to be begging for respectability. At least five Spencer associates, all male, were hanging around the office, some dressed up. (A copy of Dressing the Man: The Art of Permanent Fashion sat on the coffee table.) They included Matt, who claimed to be doing an internship with Spencer but refused to give his last name because he was worried about getting fired from his other jobs. (Spencer said he pays Matt.) Spencer spent most his time criticizing the police response in Charlottesville and sought to distance himself from James Alex Fields Jr., the 20-year-old accused of plowing his car into counter-protesters, killing one person and injuring 19. Spencer did not, however, condemn Fields, instead noting that he was awaiting the outcome of an investigation. Another associate, Nathan Damigo, a white supremacist and Marine veteran who was filmed punching a 95-pound female protester in Berkeley, California, earlier this year, also told HuffPost he was not too worried about Trump’s statement. Damigo was “disappointed” in Trump, but the president’s “statements were vague, they were ambiguous, and oftentimes people in his position will talk that way to skirt around difficult issues,” he said. “When Trump says that he denounces racism, that could mean many different things to different people.” When HuffPost asked a third Spencer associate — who said he was 28 but wouldn’t give his real name, instead calling himself Marcus Aurelius — about Trump’s statement, he said, “Yeah, of course he’s going to do that.” The man added, “It’s the same platitudes over and over. You’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times.” Given Trump’s relationship with the so-called alt-right ― a new word for white nationalism ― during the campaign, it’s not particularly surprising that Monday’s speech did not resonate with people actually accused of spreading hate. Last year, Trump initially failed to denounce former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, a Trump supporter, instead saying, “I know nothing about white supremacists. You wouldn’t want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about.” Duke appeared to have a meltdown in response to Trump’s statement Monday. “President Trump, please, for God’s sake, don’t feel like you need to say these things,” Duke said in a video. “It’s not going to do you any good.” But at the news conference, Spencer still referred to White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and chief strategist Steve Bannon as possible fellow travelers of the alt-right. He also pointed out that the rise of the movement’s public exposure coincided “almost exactly” with Trump’s announcement that he was running for president. Although he has some policy differences with the president, Spencer said, “we were connected with Donald Trump on this kind of psychic level.”

I am often asked how I stay stylish after 60, truth is I am 72. As women grow older, they become particularly skittish about expressing themselves stylishly. Sometimes, because they are self-conscious and other times, because they don’t just know how to go about styling themselves so they look good. However, in my opinion, staying stylish is as easy as it gets and with only a few simple and routine steps, any after 60-year old woman can look as stylish as she wants to. In fact, several designers have stylish trends suitable for young and older women so there’s no reason for any woman not to look beautiful, regardless of their age. I will be sharing some winning and smart fashion tips which a majority of older women tend to ignore. 1. FIX THOSE TEETH…My personal favorite! A beautiful, timeless simile works wonders in more ways than can be imagined and it’s critical that every woman pays attention to her dental health. Regular flossing, brushing and a visit to the cosmetologist to get those teeth whitened will go a long way in making you look beautiful. It must not be blinding white, something moderate would just be perfect and if you have some crooked teeth, you should fix them too. 2. GREAT FOOT WEAR To most women this might seem like nothing but the right footwear goes a long way in improving an individual’s appearance. Stumpy kitten heels, flats and even flip-flops would look great on well-manicured legs. There are several other shoes which will look great on every foot. 3. APPROPRIATE WORKING OUT Everyone is working out these days. However, one must be careful not overd0 it so you don’t end up looking overly taut, toned and even, haggard looking. Staying fit is a must but it need not be punitive. Some morning walks, light-moderate cycling, stretching, yoga and lots of sleep time would go a long way in getting that trim but healthy look. 4. STRAY GREYS For a 60-year-old plus looking to stay stylish, keeping the grey hairs far and away is one way to go. This includes those grey hairs sprouting from your eyebrow and your chin. When it comes to grey, it’s all or nothing. 5. GREAT LIPS One thing that I have observed a lot of women about age fail in is that they ignore treating their lips right by using the right cosmetics on it. Some even go as far not using cosmetics on their lips at all. All of these are not ideal as they make one look older than they actually look. Nothing like a bright red smeared across the lips or some cool pink lipstick to accentuate the features of the lips. Simply observe your skin tone and go for those lipsticks which would look good on you. Generally, dark Goth reds and burgundies are to be avoided, always. I have a great make up artist, Janine Greff, who sells wonderful age appropriate colors, please check her out.

As Donald Trump approaches his first hundred days, I find it odd political commentators sometimes bend over backwards, awarding him points simply for heeding more experienced advisers. CNN’s Anderson Cooper recently gave the man I call Trump the Pretender “credit” for reversing his NATO opinion, after declaring it obsolete during his lie-strewn campaign. Now, standing alongside NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, Trump said “I complained about that a long time ago and they made a change, and now they do fight terrorism.” This, despite NATO troops adjoining ours for years in the Mid-East. Later, Cooper called Trump a hypocrite for not admitting he’d changed his point of view, thereupon displaying his own tendency to flip-flop. Similarly, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, generally known for criticizing the president chosen by almost 3,000,000 voters fewer than Hillary Clinton, said, after the bombing of Syria’s airbase, “Donald Trump became president of the United States last night.” Really? Then Trump changed course on China after meeting with their President Xi Jinping. During the campaign he accused China of currency manipulation. Now, he says “Why would I call China a currency manipulator when they are working with us on the North Korean problem....” The Media mentions the backsliding, nonetheless “appreciating” his capacity for “growth.” How can he be taken seriously, showering praise on Xi, a man he’d maligned in the same way he excoriated Barack Obama, later extolling him during a post-election White House meeting. He similarly praised Hillary Clinton Election Night and at the Inauguration luncheon. Afterwards Obama and Clinton, without instigation on their parts, have been subjected to insulting Tweets and/or public statements belittling their efforts during Obama’s presidency. Is our president schizophrenic or just without shame? Trump now refers to the military as great, even though he inherited a force built during Obama’s era, which is performing on par with what was done previously. Indeed, the recent MOAB assault in Afghanistan was decided by the on-site commander, and Trump admitted he wasn’t foretold, though took credit, saying he’d given them authority to do such things. In his mind he gets points for stuff he hasn’t done, makes excuses for things that go wrong and won’t admit that he’s changed course from an insane or bigoted position to one foisted upon him by clear-thinking associates. While one might admit every action (though few) attributed to Trump isn’t wrong, there appears to be some journalistic necessity, in an attempt to appear balanced, to pat Trump on the back for doing the obvious thing, even if the “thing” means finally paying attention to those with lots more experience, such as Secretary of Defense Mattis and National Security Advisor McMaster, after failing miserably following “advice” from Steve Bannon (Health Care and Immigration) and Michael Flynn regarding Russia. In fairness, there’s lots more reportage spotlighting Trump’s reversals and outright lies via Tweets and interviews, but there’s a maddening tendency to coddle him with more respect than he deserves. Even liberal Trump blaster Van Jones is guilty of this. I believe, however, even when there’s improved policy or personnel changes (like Steve Bannon’s National Security Council expulsion) it shouldn’t necessarily be accompanied by displays of respect towards a man who, from day one, has shown extraordinary levels of incompetence, lack of knowledge and even a reluctance to learn the job. His cabinet appointments have mostly been horrific, from Jeff Sessions, setting back immigration reforms and drug policy, to Tom Price at Health and Human Services, determined to undo Obamacare, even as Congress shows no sign of repeal. The Education Secretary is woefully unprepared, and his children, though reportedly more liberal and possibly putting the brakes on his more preposterous endeavors, are in power positions for which they have no experience. Nepotism laws are being ignored, instituted after John F. Kennedy appointed brother Robert as Attorney-General. Except RFK had much experience as a Senate Counsel, whereas son-in-law Jared Kushner, given a portfolio from Middle East peace to reforming government infrastructure, has little to guide him other than being scion to a family fortune. Ivanka Trump, similarly, now has an office in the White House. Trump has a history of moving aside experienced folks in favor of his children. On The Apprentice he initially had company executives George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher as right-hand associates. First Carolyn was fired from the Trump organization and George appeared seldom, both shunted aside for Ivanka, then Donald, Jr. and occasionally Eric to assess the contestants. So, it’s not surprising Trump’s ego was such he’d put his children front and center and make a display of giving corporate control to his sons, as opposed to putting all he owns into a blind trust. Are we to believe his sons never talk to him about business, and that they’re unaware of what he’s planning to do before a decision is effected that might benefit his enterprises, which still enrich him? Yet with all the marches about revealing his taxes, there’s still no action by congressional leaders like Elizabeth Warren, Charles Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and others who issue statements, sometimes on Facebook, urging support for anti-Trump positions, never stating the most important reform necessary, changing the presidential election system to popular vote. It can be done, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is in progress and Democratic National Committee money must be spent to campaign for its passage in states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Colorado to reach the 270 magic number of Electors that will cause its ratification by 2020. The people ― not a disproportionate alliance of small, geographically large states ― should determine the person who can effect change affecting all Americans. Let’s make this happen. Let’s march for that! Michael Russnow’s website is www.ramproductionsinternational.com Check out Russnow’s novel, Hollywood on the Danube on all Amazon sites and Kindle

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To meet Mzee Juma is to know disappointment. He is not a Mzee as his name portrays him. He is in his early 40s, a bit build up, around 6’8 feet tall, and light in complexion. He has curly hair, and one is prone to mistake him for a Somali. His dress code is casual smart, a different picture from the shaman stereotype we all keep in mind. “Finally we meet! We’ll talk on our way home,” Mzee Juma says. “Let us just walk to the bus station and maybe catch the first matatu; we have a long and tedious journey ahead so cheer up.’’ We board a matatu from town to Mavoko Municipality where he lives. In the matatu, he sits on the second row at the far end near the window and waits patiently for the vehicle to get full. Once in a while, Juma seems to get lost in his thoughts, and his eyes glued to one place. At other times he sings along to the music that is playing in the matatu. All this is beyond expectations. A shaman does not sing along to Kenyan pop. When asked to pay the bus fare Juma is the first to hand the conductor his ticket. He looks away immediately after, seemingly pondering the dusty roads. On arrival at Mavoko, a white land rover is in place. The final leg of the journey took us approximately 10 km from Mavoko Town through harsh terrain. The drive seems like a trip of a thousand miles because of the poor state of the dirt road leading to his homestead The journey is almost over, but not until we walk another 10 minutes through the middle of a forest, leaving the vehicle behind because of the thick bush. On arrival at Mzee Juma’s homestead, one could not help but notice the number of people going in and out, a contrary picture to the deserted road leading to his home. They are all here to seek the wise words of the witch doctor. With witchcraft being an illegal practice in Kenya, one wonders how the business has thrived through the years. Two years ago, Thomas escaped from his ancestral home in fear of being lynched by the community he had lived with all his life. His family was not lucky enough to live to tell the ordeal of that unforgettable day. Accused of crimes they did not commit, a crime impossible to even think about, and so their house was set ablaze in the odd hours of the night when everyone was dead asleep. According to his accusers, he was a sorcerer; he had conspired to the murder of his neighbors using ungodly powers. His was a narrow escape, a good example of the many tales he has heard about a few times in his life. For two years, he has not spoken a word of it to anyone. “I was woken up by the smell of smoke, and to my surprise, the whole house was covered by a cloud of smoke. Immediately, I woke my wife up, and she runs to where our three children were sleeping,” said Thomas “At this point, I could hear people outside the house shouting. “ua wote,Wachawi hao, wametusumbua sana” { troublesome witches, Kill them all}. I peeped through the window to see what was happening and the house was surrounded by people who were well known to us, some still holding sticks of fire in their hands”, Added Thomas That is just what he can remember from that incident so ruthless and disturbing scene that made his neighbors forget their humanity so easily. That is just one of the many incidences where you get out alive. In 2009, According to Voice of Africa, five elderly men and women were burned alive by villagers in western Kenya who accused them of bewitching a young boy. Three years ago, a video emerged on the internet showing five people burned in the village of Nyamataro, Kisii, in the western Kenya, over witchcraft allegations causing an uproar. The truth is that witchcraft and the rituals surrounding it still have strongholds in many parts of the country including Machakos, Kisii, Kitui and the coastal towns. In the past years, Nairobi has also experienced an increase in the number of witches. The streets are peppered with soothsayers’ advertisements every few step one takes, and that is how Juma’s contacts came to hand. Most of them want a financial commitment before agreeing to see someone. The money is sent before the D-day through mobile money transfer before the D-day. In such business, there are clients from all walks of life. Many are just trying their luck to make ends meet. They come from countries as far as Nigeria and just across the border in Tanzania where people have strong beliefs in the power of the witchcraft. People with albinism have been disassembled in western parts of Tanzania because the witch-doctors create a belief that albino body parts bring great wealth. Those suspected of witchcraft are also targeted; an estimated 600 elderly women were killed in 2011 due to the suspicion they were witches, according to the Legal and Human Rights Center in Tanzania. Immediately after talking to a few of his clients Juma went in the inner room of his two bed roomed house where his office is and changed into his working attire. iBIRD Photography He replaced the trouser with a leso and put a skin over his torso, leaving it half-bare. At the far end of the room were all the paraphernalia which you would associate with witchcrafts. Finally the Nigerian movie is coming close to reality. He claims he inherited the practice from his maternal grandfather, “this is a divine calling not everyone can mutter the right incantation it requires divine intervention from the spirits”, says Mzee Juma “My grandfather chose me because the spirit wanted me to be the next in our lineage’ ’Added Juma. According to Juma not many can commune with the spirits A few gourds sat on the floor full of blood. According to Juma, the blood was from different animals that were brought to him upon his request. He sits on a giant cow skin with the skull of a cow mounted on the wall a couple of inches above his head. ust Like many in his field, Juma believes in supernatural powers, and for years he has helped his clients whom he says keep coming back to him after he successfully helps them out with their problems. He specializes in incantations, casting spells, performing divination and exorcisms, creating amulets and charms as well as brewing potions and salves. He is also capable of finding lovers, reading horoscopes, curing erectile dysfunction and barrenness, and getting someone a job or promotion. A request to meet his client was met with total resentment, but after promising not to reveal the identity, Juma introduces Mueni, a woman who has been his client for many years. The soothsayer says he helped Mueni get a job, not just any job but one that pays her 150+ thousand with a non-government organization. Mueni came to Juma after some years in search of employment, being the first born in a family of nine and well educated. {university level}. Her parents had hopes that she would help in educating her younger siblings and when this was not forthcoming, she sought to explore the ways of Mzee Juma. Mueni was asked to bring a white heifer that Mzee Juma offered to the spirits. A piece of the meat was tied on a piece of black cloth and handed to Mueni with instruction never to leave it behind. The blood from the heifer was poured around her homestead to cleanse them from the evil spirit that Juma believed was sent to them by one of Mueni’s uncle. In some rituals, new beliefs, and old beliefs blend. A good example is funerary rites which may have been Christian, but incorporate old beliefs concerned with ensuring that the soul will enter paradise. As a result, a grave-site is blessed with holy water and a few prayers followed by the pouring of a bit of alcohol for the ancestors and a few incantations to make sure the soul departs to a better place. According to a 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center, 25 percent of Kenyans believe in witchcraft and the occult. Kenya is ranked 15th in the continent for belief in dark magic, behind regional neighbor Tanzania. When it comes to politics in Kenya, witchcraft is not a vocabulary, for many times we have heard top politician linked with seeking the intervention of the witch doctors to win elective positions. As Juma dropped names of his client’s one could but notice names of politicians, one senator, five Members of Parliament and several county representatives. Kenyan politicians have always been rumored to use occult powers to further their careers. In 1992 elections Musikari Kombo, the former local government minister, lost an election petition after claims that he had used witchcraft to win the elections that year. Kombo is said to have used witch-doctors to administer oaths to compel voters to vote him in. Remember the police report that claimed “ Bizarre “ items were found at the scene of the accident involving former Yatta Mp James Mutiso who died after his car was swept away by floods in 2013? In Kenya, anyone who is suspected of practicing the act is lynched or burnt to death by the community. But that has not stopped the practice with many weird stories being reported in media from across the country.

Baby on board? Congratulations! When you aren’t losing your lunch or having your stomach touched by strangers, pregnancy can be a pretty magical experience. If you’re about to be a mom for the first time, or if you’re simply looking for tips to make a subsequent pregnancy easier, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled 16 articles full of advice, support and reassurance for moms-to-be. Whether you need some third trimester sleep tips or a little post-baby body realness, we’ve got you covered. JGI/Jamie Grill via Getty Images Sleeping comfortably during your third trimester of pregnancy is pretty much a pipe dream, thanks to a wild assortment of ailments including leg cramps, heartburn and the frequent need to pee. But there is a way you can sleep a bit more comfortably during this stage. Im So Pregnant “When I found out that I was pregnant the first time, I spent a lot of time reading up on what I could expect over the next few months, and most of it was just sunshine and positive stories,” the illustrator told HuffPost. “However as the weeks passed, I experienced some of the more negative side effects of being pregnant, and I never saw anyone write much about that.” SHONITRIA ANTHONY “The biggest thing I learned was that nothing could prepare me for the stuff I was about to experience after giving birth — from my daughter’s first night home to the baby blues. Now, six months into this motherhood experience, I am here to share a few things I know and wish like hell someone would have given me a heads up about.” laflor via Getty Images The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or ACOG, once recommended that when feasible, health care providers wait to administer epidurals until the cervix has dilated to 4 or 5 centimeters. But in 2006, it reversed that stance. So when is the right time to give a laboring woman an epidural to help with the pain of childbirth? TERRY VINE VIA GETTY IMAGES “Our findings should be reassuring to women experiencing these symptoms, as the risk for a pregnancy loss is greatly reduced in women with these symptoms.” KIDSTOCK VIA GETTY IMAGES The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends pregnant women without obstetric or medical complications exercise at least 30 minutes a day most – if not all – days a week, just like the rest of the population. Regular runners, the organization says, can keep running, though they might have to modify their routines. Getty Images “When I was in my first trimester, I would wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to go back to sleep, because all I could think about was iceberg lettuce dipped in sour cream. I could practically taste it, the image was so vivid.” — Ashley bubs2bikinis Instagram “Sure, you might look at my page and see images like the left and think this mama works out all the time and she must eat healthy all the time... Well I’m here to tell you NO that’s not how things go and I don’t believe anyone should live without a little bit of life’s indulgences!” Martin Dimitrov via Getty Images In the last decade, awareness about postpartum depression and anxiety has blossomed. A somewhat separate, but equally serious type of maternal depression has yet to garner the same type of attention. Depression during pregnancy, often called prenatal or antenatal depression, affects roughly 15 to 25 percent of expectant mothers, upending the neat cultural narrative that pregnancy is a time of excitement and joy for all women. Mediaphotos IStock Your body just did something amazing—and while you know your breasts are different and that it can take some time to heal down there, here are some other effects you may face. krisrosulli Instagram “I’m sharing this to show moms that sometimes it doesn’t matter if you’re thin, ate right and exercised during pregnancy, sometimes your body grows in such a way that simply doesn’t allow you to ‘bounce back’ in friggen 3 weeks.” RyanJLane via Getty Images Give yourself room to do things that help relieve stress and give you pleasure—whether it’s a few hours to see a movie with your friend/partner or some quiet time to take a nap or a pass to devour that brownie hot fudge sundae you’ve been craving for so long. If you find the anxiety still hard to bear, seek emotional support through a professional therapist. MAYTE TORRES VIA GETTY IMAGES Women are usually told that getting pregnant later in life is worse for both the mother and the baby. But when it comes to a mother’s well-being and her child’s social-emotional development, there are significant advantages of getting pregnant later in life. Getty Images Scientists have long known that exercising during pregnancy may be good for expectant mothers and boost their unborn children’s heart health and brain activity. But the physical activity could also have some significant lasting effects, research suggests. Phalinn Ooi / Flickr An airplane’s recirculated cabin air certainly doesn’t leave you feeling hydrated. Add in your body’s pregnancy needs, and it’s likely you’ll quickly become parched at 30,000 feet. While it’s essential to drink plenty of water at all times during pregnancy, it’s especially important during travel. Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty Images

Here’s your (spoof) television guide to the 2018 Winter Olympics. Tweeters this week used the #WinterOlympicsTV hashtag to put an Olympic spin on their favorite TV show titles ― in anticipation of the upcoming games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Highlights included “Stranger Rinks,” “Curl Your Enthusiasm” and “Little House Vonn The Prairie.” Check out some of the other amusing suggestions below: How Ice Hockey Met Your Mother #WinterOlympicsTV — Jimish (@jimishbathia) February 1, 2018 The Biggest Luger #WinterOlympicsTV — David E (@DaSkrambledEgg) February 1, 2018 The Walking Sled #WinterOlympicsTV — Ghosted G (@g_ghosted) February 1, 2018 Buffy the Vampire Sledder #WinterOlympicsTV — Danielle Radin (@danielleradin) February 1, 2018 Curls Gone Wild #WinterOlympicsTV — Nate Churchill (@Nate_Churchill_) February 1, 2018 21 Ski Jump Street#WinterOlympicsTV — Eric Schmeric (@HepatitisAtoZ) February 1, 2018

Today, a bunch of actors of color are coming together to showcase their talents and make their voices heard. Project Am I Right’s The White-List Cabaret. We will be singing some of your favorite, usually-played-by-White-people, show tunes. Now more than ever we need the theatre arts. There’s a lot of crazy shit going down and we need to stand together as a community. Tonight we will do that with song. Tonight we will make it loud and clear that people of color are not going anywhere. Diversity and inclusion is what makes this nation strong. We matter. Nicholas Edwards NAR Photography Lauren Villegas Lauren Villegas, the creator of Project Am I Right (PAIR), is on a mission to make the theatre world aware of the perils of whitewashing. She is a rock star, and is getting shit done. She’s probably pissing people off along the way, but you know what? Sometimes you have to tell it like it is and not give a fuck about what other people think if you want to see positive changes happen. What is Project Am I Right? Why did you start it? What do you hope to accomplish with your project? PAIR is an initiative to raise awareness and empower professional actors to end the whitewashing of roles written for underrepresented groups. I started the initiative a little over a year ago when Marriott Theater announced their cast for a production of Evita that was pretty much entirely made up of white, non-Latinx actors. In calling them out for the whitewashing of a story about real historical figures who were clearly and inherently South American, I realized I was making the same few arguments over and over again. So I decided to write them all down. I stayed up all night and wrote them all out as kind of a FAQ to whitewashing, from the perspective of a White actor trying to decide where they stand on the issue. The great hope is rooted in the simple fact that if starting tomorrow cisgender actors said no to playing roles written as transgender people, if non-disabled actors said no to playing roles written as people with disabilities, and if white actors said no to playing roles written as people of color, then a *huge* part of the problem to do with representation is solved. It's that simple. We as actors need to remember that we have power and agency. We can no longer sit idly by and say "leave it to casting" or "take it up with the people behind the table." We can no longer shirk responsibility for the ethics of our choices. We must stand together with our colleagues, we must do the right thing together. Have you noticed a change of conscious with “White” actors who would typically audition for characters of color since you started this project? The most rewarding part of leading PAIR has been getting unsolicited messages, some from actors I know, some from actors I've never met, who tell me that reading the website or seeing the way I engage in online forums (even places like Audition Update) has made them change their views. One was a non-Latinx white guy with a Portuguese last name that had helped him get away with actively pursuing roles written as Latinx. He told me that even though at first he was very defensive of PAIR's objectives, that upon taking the time to consider everything, he went so far as to take the Latinx roles off of his resume and stop pursuing or accepting those roles moving forward in his career. Messages like that are why I do it. A message like that for sure cancels out all the angry "mind your own business" or "you're insane to think any actor will ever turn down a job" messages I get. What are some challenges you’ve experienced as a woman of color in the entertainment industry? LOLZ. How much time do we have? Aside from all the obvious stuff, I think the most relevant to PAIR challenge I've dealt with is sharing a dressing room with non-Latinx actors playing Latinx characters. It's not that I've ever had to deal with overt racism or malice. Just such overwhelming lack of awareness. Lack of empathy. Obliviousness. Listening to a colleague I love and respect cry about not wanting to wear the brown contacts that were purchased by wardrobe for her to wear for the show. Being asked how to curse in Spanish. Listening to offensive over-the-top stereotypes and accents coming out the mouths of colleagues I consider friends. Being asked why I haven't invited my family to the show and not being able to tell them the truth that it's because I'm embarrassed of how bad and frankly offensive the dialect work is. And for all of this to happen in my place of work where I need to be polite, professional and courteous. And where as an actor with no authority over my fellow actors I feel like I simply have to do my best to ignore it all and do my job. Then seeing how many white actors use the argument "I've played [whatever non-white character] and all my friends in the show of [whatever non-white race] were totally fine with it!" To justify feeling like PAIR is an overreaction or that they are an exception, I remember every time I've been in a dressing room like that and felt so hurt and so trapped. And to realize that my silence has ever been interpreted as a tacit or implied endorsement to those actors to continue to whitewash breaks my heart. That's why I couldn't stay silent anymore. What do you think our fellow actors of color need to do in order to see the change they want to see in the business? What can casting/directors/producers/writers do to further the diversity and inclusion cause? And how do you combat those that don't believe in furthering diversity? I think we have to continue to put up with a lot of the crazy stuff we put up with but find ways to politely challenge the status quo whenever and wherever you can. The next time you're in an audition and a white creative or casting professional asks you to be more urban/sassy/hood-rat/spicy/submissive/or whatever stereotype they're implying (intentionally or not), politely say something like "Sure. Great. I'd love if you could share a little more about how else you would describe the character. I know you don't want just a shallow stereotype so I want to be sure I understand exactly what you are looking for." Give them the benefit of the doubt. Give them a chance to rethink what they asked you to do and how they asked you to do it. Full credit for this technique to the brilliant Bisserat Tseggai. I also think we need more actors of color to transition and start writing, directing, producing, working as talent agencies, and casting directors. We NEED to get behind the table. Professionals who are working behind the table right now, I think the best thing they can do if find ways to hire people to work with them who aren't white/cis/non-disabled. Hire people to work side by side with them who have a completely different experience of the world and an entirely different experience of how our crazy business really works. And listen. For those that fight inclusion, there's only so much to be done. It's hard emotional labor to raise awareness and change minds. I am careful to choose battles I have some chance of winning. There are battles that aren't worth the effort. I remember to reclaim my time when I should. Don't waste my time on dinosaurs and bigots who aren't going to change. I try to find allies in waiting who can and will join the fight. What are your thoughts on Representation versus Presentation? I think the presentation element is kind of the final frontier of the issue. I think for Latinx people it's particularly complicated since we're inherently such a diverse group phenotypically speaking. Think about how many Italian or Jewish girls have played Maria in West Side Story or Nina in In the Heights because they "looked Latina" when there are plenty of Afro-Puerto Rican girls who are *actually* Puerto Rican who can't get an audition for the role because that's not what white directors and casting directors perceive a Latina to look like. Think how many fair skinned, light-haired, light-eyed Latinx actors get told they don't look "Latin enough" to tell their own stories. I think especially for Latinx actors it has to be about complicating what "looks Latinx" to begin with in representing ourselves. You have done a lot of theatre in Chicago. Do you think there is a major difference in how New York City Theatre's deal with racism in the arts versus the ChiTown theatre scene? I think the biggest difference is simply the size and all the ways the size of the community affects accountability. When everyone knows everyone it's harder for things to slip through the cracks. It's harder for people to get away with things. After a couple of years of very public shaming of some companies they've really started to make an effort. Is it kinda lame that that's what it took? Yeah. But at least it worked. Eventually. I will also say that I give the Chicago theater scene in general a lot of credit for investing in new work by non-white writers. There are obviously tons are great things happening here in NYC to foster new voices too and the face of Broadway is changing slowly but surely. The thing that can be frustrating about NYC actors and casting that happens here is the sheer volume breeds a certain kind of every-man-for-himself totally cut-throat mentality and individualism that can be kind of toxic. On Monday, June 14th we are performing in your cabaret - The White-List Cabaret. What do you hope our fellow Actors Equity members will walk away with? Why did you feel this show is important to produce? My Whitelist Cabaret hopes to raise awareness of the career challenges faced by actors from underrepresented groups, and to help highlight importance of not whitewashing the limited number of roles written specifically for them. We also hope to help producers, directors, and casting directors see that some of the roles on these artists' whitelists don't need to default to White/Cis/Non-Disabled after all. What's next for Project Am I Right? My long term hope is to get into conservatories, universities and even performing arts high schools to talk to pre-professional actors. I'm developing a workshop curriculum that covers the history of representation on stage and screen and also the ethics of the choices we as actors make in the course of our careers. I'm also hopeful to make My Whitelist Cabaret an annual event and even to take the idea to other cities. Thank you so much Lauren! For more info on The White-List Cabaret please list the Facebook event page! Hope to see you all tonight! www.facebook.com/events/1775935052696590